im 


?  PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


S/ie/f. 


BX  9211  .N44  V37  1886 
Vass,  Lachlan  Gumming,  1831 

1896. 
History  of  the  Presbyterian 

church  in  New  Bern,  N.C. 


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HISTORY 


OP  THE 


PRESBYTEllIAN  CHURCH 


IN 


NEW    BERN,   N.  C, 


WITH 


A  EESUIME   OF  EAELY  ECCLESIASTICAL   AFFAIES   IN 
EASTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA, 


SKETCH  OF  THE  EARLY  DAYS  OF  NEW  BERN,  N.  C. 


BY 


EEV.  L.   C.  YASS,  A.  M., 

AUTHOR     OF     "AMUSEMENTS     AND     THE     CHRISTIAN     LIFE.' 


EICHIVIOND,  VA.: 

Whittet  &  Shepperson,  Printers,  1001  Main  Street. 

1886. 


Copyright, 

BY 

Rev.    L.    C.    Vass, 
1886. 


CONTENTS. 


PRELnnx.vRY  Statement, 

T 

North  Carolina, 

9 

Settlement  of  Eastern  Nortli  Carolina, 

9 

Testimony  of  John  Lawson,  1708,     . 

12 

The  Proinietary  Government,  . 

15 

Religious  Aspect  of  the  Colony, 

15 

Col.  Byrd, 

17 

Quakers ;  Fox  and  Edmundson, 

18 

General  Character,  .... 

21 

Eeligious  Liberty,    .... 

23 

An  EstabUshed  Church,   . 

24 

Presbj'terian  Influence,     .... 

30 

Mecklenburg  Declaration,  1775, 

32 

Hugh  WiUiamson  and  others,  . 

33 

Presbyterian  Settlements, 

35 

Highlanders,    ...... 

36 

IVIinisters  Scarce, 

38 

The  First  Call :  James  Campbell,     . 

39 

Hugh  McAden,         .... 

41 

Duphn, 

42 

Robinson  and  Stanford,    . 

42 

Classical  Schools, 

43 

Old  Princeton  College, 

47 

New  Bern, 

48 

Huguenots, 

48 

Claude  Phlippe  De  Richeboui'g, 

50 

Christopher  Emanuel  De  Graffenriedt, 

53 

The  Palatines, 

55 

The  Swiss, 

58 

Their  Ecclesiastical  Chai'acter,  and  Reasons   for  1 

iUiigrat- 

ing  to  Carolina,          .... 

59 

4  CONTENTS 

De  Grafifenried's  Letter,  . 

De  Graffenried's  Capture,  and  his  Manuscript, 

Founding  of  New  Bern,    . 

Craven  County, — its  Name, 

Other  Immigrants,   . 

New  Bern  Data. 

First  Printing  Press, 

Bevolutionary  Privateers, 

Education, 

Memorable  Items, 
Earliest  Churches, 

Ej)iscopal, 

Whitefield, 

Methodists, 

Baptists,  . 

Other  Churches, 
New  Bern  in  1798, 

Two  Old  Accounts, 

Watson's  Journey,  in  1777-78; 
Tryon's  Palace, 
New  Bern  in  1818  and  1819, 

New  Street, 

Washington's  Letter, 
Presbyterianism  in  New  Bern  in  1800-1817, 

Benjamin  H.  Eice,    . 

W.  L.  Tui-ner,  . 

James  K.  Burch, 

Subscription  in  1808, 

James  Waddy  Thompson, 

Jonathan  Otis  Freeman,  M.  D 

Organization, 

The  Thirteen, 

J.  N.  Campbell, 

Palmy  Days, 

Churches, 

Fu-st  Meetmg, 

Lot  Bought, 

Foundation  Laid, 

Address,  by  Eev.  J.  Nicholson  Campbell, 

Exhuming  the  Corner  Stone,    . 


64: 

64 

69 

70 

70 

72 

72 

73 

74 

75 

77 

77 

79 

79 

81 

85 

86 

87 

88 

90 

97 

98 

99 

100 

100 

101 

101 

103 

104 

105 

106 

107 

108 

110 

113 

115 

116 

116 

117 

121 


CONTENTS 

Incidents, 

Completion, 

Dedication, 

Sale  of  Pews,    . 

Plan  of  Pews,   . 

Sketches  of  E.  Hawes;  R.  Hay;  J.  Jones 
Eunice  Hunt;  J.  C.  Stanly 

Description  of  the  Cliurcli, 
Succession  of  Pastobs  : 

Lemuel  Durant  Hatch, 

Michael  Osborne, 

Samuel  Hurd,  . 

Drury  Lacy,  D.  D.,  . 

Moses  Drury  Hoge,  . 

1837  and  1838, 

Daniel  Stratton, 

Roanoke  Presbytery, 

Thomas  Eraser, 

Thomas  George  Wall, 

Moses  T.  Harris, 

1861-1866, 

Lachlan  Cumming  Vass,  a.  M„ 

Repair's,   . 

Einancial  Work, 

Membership,    . 

Spiritual  Building,    . 

Systematic  Benevolence, 

Olden  Records, 

Recent  Records, 
,  Financial  Summaiy, 

Personal  Sketch, 

Property  Data, 

Manse, 

Session  House, 

Trustees, 

Deacons,  . 

Recent  Renovation,  . 
Sundry  Memoranda, 

Sabbath  School, 

Ministers  from  the  New  Bern  Church, 


S.  N.  Chester 


121 
128 
124 
125 
127 


127-135 
137 
139 
139 
143 
145 
148 
154 
159 
160 
163 
164 
164 
165 
166 
167 
167 
168 
169 
169 
171 
172 
173 
174 
176 
179 
179 
179 
180 
180 
180 
182 
182 
182 


CONTENTS. 


Euling  Elders  and  Deacons,     .... 

Oi'gan, 

Ebenezer  Presbyterian  Church, 

Ministers  from  Hanover  Presbytery, 

Growth  of  Presbyterianism  in  Eastern  Carolina, 

Conclusion,  ....... 

Addenda,    .         .         .         .         .         .         •         . 


18a 

183 
185 
185 

185 
186 
18& 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Paob. 

1.  New  Bern, Frontispiece 

2.  Marriage  License  by  Go'V'ernor  Trton,  1769,    ...  30 

3.  Old  Princeton  College,  .......  47 

4.  Communion  Gathering  in  Olden  Times,     ....  80 

5.  Tbyon's  Palace,        ........  90 

6.  Seal  and  Autographs,       .......  92 

7.  First  Presbyterian  Church, 116 

8.  Plan  of  the  Pews,  with  Names  of  the  Original  Holders,  126 

9.  Eev.  Drury  Lacy,  D.  D., 148 

10.  Eev.  Daniel  Stratton,     .......  160 

11.  Eev.  Lachlan  C.  Vass, 176 

12.  Open  Bible,     .........  181 

13.  Ebenezer  Presbyterlan  Church,        .         .         .         .         .  183 


PRELIMINARY  STATEMENT. 


OEANGE  PRESBYTERY  laid  on  me  the  preparation  of 
the  history  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  Bern, 
N.  C.  All  the  Records  of  the  Church  were  unfortunately  lost 
in  the  evacuation  of  the  city,  14th  March,  1862.  On  1st  Jan- 
uary, 1827,  all  the  Records  of  Orange  Presbytery  were  consumed 
in  tlie  burning  of  the  residence  of  Rev.  John  Witherspoon, 
the  Stated  Clerk,  in  Hillsboro,  except  one  volume,  containing 
its  proceedings  from  18th  November,  1795,  to  26th  September, 
1812.  A  committee,  consisting  of  Rev.  Messrs.  Witherspoon, 
McPlieeters,  Jos.  Caldwell,  E.  B.  Currie,  and  Wm.  Paisley,  was 
appointed  to  recover,  as  far  as  possible,  the  history  embraced 
in  those  burnt  Minutes.  They  prepared  a  book  of  statistics, 
necessarily  brief  and  unsatisfactory.  My  work  has  thus  been 
very  difficult.  My  search  has  been  wide  and  laborious  to  gain 
any  accurate  data,  and  sometimes  has  utterly  failed. 

So  it  seems  best  to  begin  with  a  succinct  resum6  of  the  ec- 
clesiastical and  religious  status  of  Eastern  North  Carolina,  and 
especially  of  Craven  Precinct,  from  the  earliest  colonial  set- 
tlement; and  a  brief  history  of  New  Bern  itself,  with  tlie 
special  design  to  discover  any  elements  of  Presbyterianism  that 
may  have  existed  hereabout  in  the  past  century,  or  in  the  open- 
ing of  this  century ;  and  to  understand  the  surroundings  of  the 
birth  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  ancient  City  of 
Elms  by  the  sea.     No  minute  or  exhaustive  investigation  is 


PRELIMINAKY  STATEMENT. 


proposed,  nor  would  it  be  appropriate  here.     But  it  is  hoped 
that  the  review  will  be  comprehensive  and  luminous. 

I  am  greatly  indebted  for  kind  and  sometimes  laborious  as- 
sistance given  me  by  Rev.  B.  M.  Smith,  D.  D.,  of  Union  The- 
ological Seminary,  Ya. ;  to  the  loved  and  lamented  model 
Stated  Clerk  of  Orange  Presbytery,  and  of  the  Synod  of  ISTorth 
Carolina,  Rev.  Jacob  Doll,  and  to  his  worthy  successors.  Rev. 
F.  H.  Johnston  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  W.  S.  Lacy;  to  the  Rev.  W. 
E.  Schenck,  D.  D.,  the  veteran  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Publication,  Philadelphia ;  to  the  accomplished  an- 
tiquarian of  New  Bern,  Hon.  J.  D.  "Whitford ;  to  Rev.  E.  F. 
Rockwell,  D.  D.,  Col.  R.  M.  Saunders,  Secretary  of  State  of 
North  Carolina,  and  many  other  kind  friends.  Among  the 
authorities  upon  which  my  statements  are  based  are  histories  of 
Nortli  Carolina,  by  Zawsou,  Martin,  Williarnson,  Hawks,  Whee- 
ler, t'aruthers,  Sewell  (or  ^^Shocco''^)  Jones,  Wiley  and  Foote 
Burnet's  ''Hlstorij  of  His  Oivn  Time''  (Edition  of  1734) 
Hume's  England;  Gillies'  Historical  Collections  of  1754 
Byrd's  Westover  Manuscripts  o/1728  to  1736;  Lossing's  i^zeZc^ 
Book  of  the  Revolution  ;  Bancroft's  History  of  United  States; 
Foote's  Huguenots;  Weiss's  Huguenot  Refugees;  Maury's 
Memories  of  a  Huguenot  Family;  Bernheim's  Lutheran 
Church  of  North  and  South  Carolina ;  Rumple's  Roioan 
County  ;  MWier's  Bench  and  Bar  of  Georgia  ;  Duyckinck's  Cy- 
clo])ccdia  of  American  Literature;  Craighead's  Scotch  and 
Lrish  Seeds ;  McTyeire's  Methodism. ;  Histories  of  Yirginia, 
by  Chas.  Campbell  and  by  J.  W.  Campbell,  in  1813,  with 
many  fugitive  articles  in  newspapers  and  pamphlets  about  New 
Bern.  All  this,  old  traditions,  unpublished  diaries,  and  other 
material  I  have  used  as  best  served  my  aim  to  get  and  give  in- 
formation. 


NORTH  CAROLINA. 


3t$  Scttrcrs. 

l^ORTH  CAROLINA  was  settled  by  men  "of  gentle 
_L  1  tempers,  of  serene  minds,  enemies  to  violence  and  blood- 
shed," These  noble  pioneers  were  tlie  freest  of  the  free,  some 
of  them  doubtless  escaping  severe  restraints  and  unholy  l)rn- 
talities;  and  in  their  new  homes  of  balmy  airs  and  virgin 
beauty,  they  dift'iised  gentle  eliarities  as  richly  as  the  flowers 
on  their  smiling  savannahs,  while  they  grew  strong  and  sang 
in  the  manly  vigor  of  a  muscular  and  benevolent  independence. 
Many  unjust  slurs  have  been  freely  cast  upon  this  province  as 
the  notorious  refuge  of  the  criminal,  and  the  congenial  asylum 
of  the  fugitive  debtor,  a  veritable  "  Botany  Bay,"  the  welcom- 
ing "Arcadia"  of  universal  and  blooming  wickedness.  All 
this  is  gratuitous  slander.  Doubtless  evil  characters  did  some- 
times escape  just  vengeance  for  their  law-breaking,  by  passing 
over  the  Carolina  border.  But  some  of  these  early  colonists 
fled  from  ungodly  assaults  in  Massachusetts  and  Virginia  on 
their  rights  and  liberties,  while  tlie  majority  were  enterprising 
immigrants,  seeking  broader  acres  and  larger  fortunes,  or  ani- 
mated by  the  varied  practical  or  romantic  motives  that  sway  the 
same  class  of  persons  to-day.  In  the  "  Westover  Manuscripts" 
of  1728,  the  fun-loving,  free-spoken,  sometimes  unjust,  but  not 
malicious  author.  Col.  Wm.  Byrd,  talks  about "  the  distemper  of 
laziness"  on  the  men  who  relied  on  the  bounty  of  nature,  and 
reaped  the  "  Carolina  felicity  of  having  nothing  to  do."  "The 
men,  for  their  parts,  just  like  the  Indians,  impose  all  the  work 
upon  the  poor  women.  They  make  their  wives  rise  out  of 
their  beds  early  in  the  morning,  at  the  same  time  that  they  lie 
and  snore,  till  the  sun  has  risen  one-tliird  of  his  course,  and 


10  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

dispersed  all  the  unwholesome  damps.  Then,  after  stretching 
and  yawning  for  half  an  hour,  they  light  their  pipes,  and 
under  the  protection  of  a  cloud  of  smoke,  venture  out  into  the 
open  air;  though,  if  it  happens  to  be  never  so  little  cold,  they 
quickly  return  shivering  to  the  chimney  corner.  When  the 
weather  is  mild,  they  stand  leaning  with  both  their  arms  upon 
tlie  corn-field  fence,  and  gravely  consider  whether  they  had 
best  go  and  take  a  small  heat  at  the  hoe ;  but  generally  find 
reasons  to  put  it  off  until  another  time.  Thus  the}^  loiter  away 
their  lives,  like  Solomon's  sluggard,  with  their  arms  across,  and 
at  the  winding  up  of  the  year  scarcely  have  bread  enough  to  eat. 
To  speak  the  truth,  it  is  a  thorough  aversion  to  labor  that  makes 
people  file  off  to  North  Carolina,  where  plenty  and  a  warm 
sun  confirm  them  in  their  disposition  to  laziness  for  their  whole 
lives."  "Every  one  does  what  seems  best  in  his  own  eyes." 
He  charges  the  government  of  North  Carolina  with  encourag- 
ing the  unneighborly  policy  of  slieltering  "runaway  slaves, 
debtors  and  criminals,"  and  makes  merry  at  the  lack  of  all 
religion  in  these  borderers.  He  forgets  that,  as  to  many  of 
them,  his  survey  is  to  determine  wliether  they  are  in  Virginia, 
Arahy  the  hlest,  or  in  unsanctified  Carolina! 

But  the  planters  of  Albemarle  were  neither  robbers,  rebels 
nor  fanatics,  notwithstanding  the  rough  assertions  of  Governor 
Spottswood,  Colonel  Byrd,  and  others.  Tliey  were  searchers 
for  freedom  of  conscience,  as  well  as  quiet  living  and  untram- 
meled  political  privileges ;  a  home,  where  non-conformity  was 
no  dishonor,  and  a  "meeting-house"  as  sacred  a  temple  of  God 
as  the  lordliest  cathedral  of  the  lordliest  ecclesiastic.  Bancroft 
says,  "  Are  there  any  who  doubt  man's  capacity  for  self-govern- 
ment, let  them  study  the  history  of  North  Carolina;  its  in- 
ha1)itants  were  restless  and  turbulent  in  their  imperfect  sub- 
mission to  a  government  imposed  on  them  from  abroad;  the 
administration  of  the  colony  was  firm,  humane  and  tranquil, 
when  they  were  left  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Any  govern- 
ment but  one  of  their  own  institution  was  oppressive."  George 
Fox,  the  distinguished  father  of  the  Quakers,  testifies  that  he 
found  the  people  "  generally  tender  and  open,"  and  had  made 


ITS  SETTLERS.  11 

among  them  "a  little  entrance  for  truth."  Amid  these  sylvan 
scenes  were  growinji;  in  clearness  and  power  those  immortal 
principles  which  so  sturdily  stood  forth  from  these  peopled 
wastes  in  armed  resistance  to  stamped  paper  in  Wilmington,  in 
the  prompt  capture  of  cannon  before  the  governor's  palace  in 
New  Bern,  and  in  the  formulated  doctrines  of  the  Mecklen- 
burg declaration. 

In  March,  1GJ:3,  the  Virginia  Assembly  forbade  all  teaching 
or  preaching  not  "conformable  to  the  orders  and  constitutions 
of  the  Church  of  England,  and  the  laws  therein  estal)lislied." 
Governor  Berkley,  in  entire  sympathy  with  the  act,  enforced 
it  by  proclamation.  In  his  answer  to  inquiries  of  the  commit- 
tee for  the  colonies,  in  June,  1671,  he  said,  "We  have  forty- 
eight  parishes,  and  our  ministers  are  well  paid,  and  by  my 
consent  would  be  better,  if  they  would  pray  oftener  and  preach 
less;  but  as  of  all  other  commodities,  so  of  this,  tlie  worst  are 
sent  us,  and  we  have  few  that  we  can  boast  of,  since  the  per- 
secution in  Cromwell's  tyranny  drove  divers  worthy  men  hither. 
Yet  I  thank  God  there  are  no  free  schools,  noi'  pi'inting,  and  I 
hope  we  shall  not  have  these  hundred  years  ;  for  learning  has 
h'Oiight  disobedience  and  heresy  and  sects  into  the  world,  and 
printing  has  dividged  them,  and  libels  against  the  best  govern- 
ment^'' Doubtless  from  Nansemond,  Ya.,  where  were  many 
dissenters,  there  came  individuals  and  squads  as  refugees  and 
settlers,  under  the  impulsion  of  adverse  legislation.*  But  the 
earliest  autlientic  date  of  any  settlement  is  1662.  In  this  year, 
George  Durant,  who  had  probably  been  banished  from  Nanse- 
mond,  in  1648,  by  Governor  Berkley,  secured  a  grant  from  the 
Yeopim  Indians  of  the  tvvngue  of  land  on  the  north  side  of 
Albemarle  Sound,  between  Little  River  and  the  Perquimons, 
It  is  still  known  as  "Durant's  Neck."  He  stands  the  oldest 
landholder  in  Albemarle.  Mr.  Durant  is  said  to  have  been  a 
Scotch  Presbyterian  elder,  a  godly  man  in  his  congregation.^ 
Like  a  Scotchman,  he  brought  his  Geneva  Bible  with  him;  and 

•  J.  W.  Campbell's  Hist,  of  Ya.,  p.  L'SG-'T. 

t  Chas.  Campbell's  Hist,  of  Va.  ;  Scotch  and  Irish  Seeds,  267 ;   Bancroft's 
U.  S. 


12  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

it  is  the  first  known  to  have  been  in  Carolina,  and  is  preserved 
as  a  precious  relic  in  the  Historical  Society  of  North  Carolina, 
at  Chapel  Hill. 

In  1663,  George  Cathmaid  came  with  his  emigrants,  and  the 
growth  began.  Yerj  soon  the  Cape  Fear  settlements  were 
securely  established.  The  country  between  Albemarle  and 
Clarendon,  on  the  Cape  Fear  River,  was  more  slowly  occupied, 
the  first  settlers  being  the  French  Protestant  refugees,  who 
were  Calvinists  from  the  colony  on  James  River,  Va.,  and  who 
located  in  Pamlico,  near  Bath,  in  1690.  In  1707,  another 
colony  of  Huguenots  settled  on  the  Neuse  and  Trent  rivers,  in 
Craven  County. 

John  Lawson  wrote  his  history  in  1708.  He  was  Surveyor- 
General  of  North  Carolina,  and  travelled  extensively  over  both 
Carolinas.  He  describes  the  country  with  enthusiasm,  as  "A 
delicious  country,  being  placed  in  that  girdle  of  the  world 
which  affords  wine,  oil,  fruit,  grain  and  silk,  with  other  rich 
commodities,  besides  a  sweet  air,  moderate  climate  and  fertile 
soil — these  are  IJessings  (under  lieaven's  protection)  that  spin 
out  the  thread  of  life  to  its  utmost  extent,  and  crown  our  days 
with  the  sweets  of  health  and  plenty,  which,  when  joined  with 
content,  renders  the  possessors  the  happiest  race  of  men  on 
earth."  After  speaking  of  the  failure  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's 
settlements,  he  says,  "  A  second  settlement  of  this  country  was 
made  about  fifty  years  ago,  in  that  part  w^e  now  call  Albemarl 
County,  and  chiefly  in  Chuwon  precinct,  by  several  substantial 
farmers  from  Virginia  and  other  plantations,  who,  finding  mild 
winters,  and  a  fertile  soil  beyond  expectation,  producing  every- 
thing that  was  planted  to  a  prodigious  increase,  their  cattle, 
horses,  sheep  and  swine  breeding  very  fast,  and  passing  the 
winter  without  any  assistance  from  the  planter,  so  that  every- 
thing seemed  to  come  by  nature,  the  husbandman  living  almost 
void  of  care,  and  free  from  those  fatigues  which  are  absolutely 
requisite  in  winter  countries,  for  providing  fodder  and  other 
necessaries;  these  encouragements  induced  them  to  stand  their 


lawson's  testimony.  13 

ground,  althougli  but  a  handful  of  people,  seated  at  great  dis- 
tances one  from  another,  and  amidst  a  vast  number  of  Indians 
of  different  nations,  who  were  then  in  Carolina.  Neverthe- 
less, I  say,  the  fame  of  this  new  discovered  summer  country 
spread  through  tlie  neighboring  colonics,  and  in  a  few  years 
drew  a  considerable  number  of  families  thereto,  Avho  all  found 
land  enough  to  settle  themselves  in  (had  they  been  many  thou- 
sands more),  and  that  which  was  very  good  and  commodiously 
seated,  both  for  profit  and  pleasure.  And  indeed  most  of  tlie 
plantations  in  Carolina  enjoy  a  noble  prospect  of  large  and 
spacious  rivers,  pleasant  savannahs  and  fine  meadows,  with 
their  green  liveries  interwoven  with  beautiful  flowers  of  most 
gorgeous  colors,  which  the  several  seasons  aflbrd,  hedged  in 
with  pleasant  groves  of  the  ever  famous  tulip  tree,  the  stately 
laurels  and  bays,  equalizing  the  oak  in  bigness  and  growth, 
myrtles,  jessamines,  \voodbines,  honeysuckles,  and  several  other 
fragrant  vines  and  evergreens,  whose  aspiring  branches  shadow 
and  interweave  themselves  with  the  loftiest  timbers,  yielding  a 
pleasant  prospect,  shade  and  smell,  proper  habitations  for  the 
sweet  singing  birds,  that  melodiously  entertain  such  as  travel 
through  the  woods  of  Carolina." 

Lawson  says  that  it  was  remarkable  as  a  particular  provi- 
dence of  God,  handed  down  from  heaven  to  these  people,  so 
irregularly  settled,  that  they  "continued  the  most  free  from 
the  insults  and  barbarities  of  the  Indians  of  any  colony  that 
ever  yet  was  seated  in  America.  And  what  may  well  be  looked 
upon  for  as  great  a  miracle,  this  is  a  place  where  no  malefac- 
tors are  found  deserving  death,  or  even  a  prison  for  debtors, 
there  being  no  more  than  two  persons,  as  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  learn,  ever  suflered  as  criminals,  although  it  has  been 
a  settlement  near  sixty  years — one  of  whom  was  a  Turk  that 
committed  murder,  the  other  an  old  woman,  for  witchcraft. 
These,  'tis  true,  were  on  the  stage  and  acted  many  years  l)efore 
I  knew  the  place."  This  does  not  seem  to  be  a  population  of 
violent  characters.  These  planters  lived  a  free  and  easy  life — 
were  poor  farmers,  rejoicing  in  the  exuberant  and  inexhausti- 
ble richness  of  the  soil,  yielding  annually  without  any  manur- 


14  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

ing — were  "kind  and  hospitable  to  all  that  come  to  visit  them, 
there  being  very  few  housekeepers  but  what  live  nobly,  and 
give  away  more  provisions  to  coasters  and  guests  who  come  to 
see  them  than  they  expend  amongst  their  own  families."  "  As 
for  those  women  that  do  not  expose  themselves  to  the  weather, 
they  are  often  very  fair,  and  generally  as  well-featured  as  you 
shall  see  anywhere,  and  have  very  brisk  and  charming  eyes, 
which  sets  them  off  to  advantage.  They  marry  very  young, 
some  at  thirteen  or  fourteen ;  and  she  that  stays  till  twenty  is 
reckoned  a  very  indifferent  character  in  that  warm  country. 
The  women  are  very  fruitful — most  houses  being  full  of  little 

ones Many  of  the  women  manage  canoes  with  great 

dexterity.  They  are  ready  to  help  their  husbands  in  any  ser- 
vile work,  as  planting,  when  the  season  of  the  weather  requires 
expedition;  pride  seldom  banishing  good  housewifery.  The 
girls  are  not  bred  up  to  the  wlieel  and  sewing  only,  but  the 
dairy  and  the  affairs  of  the  house  they  are  very  well  acquainted 
withal,  so  that  you  shall  see  them,  whilst  very  young,  manage 
their  business  with  a  great  deal  of  conduct  and  alacrity.  The 
children  of  both  sexes  are  very  docile,  and  learn  anything  with 
a  great  deal  of  ease  and  method;  and  those  that  have  the  ad- 
vantages of  education  write  very  good  hands,  and  prove  good 
accountants,  which  is  most  coveted,  and,  indeed,  most  neces- 
sary in  these  pai-ts.  The  young  men  are  commonly  of  a  bash- 
ful, sober  behavior,  few  proving  prodigals  to  consume  what  the 
industry  of  their  parents  has  left  them,  but  commonly  improve 
it."  The  easy  way  of  living  in  this  new  and  plentiful  country 
fostered  negligence.  Lawson  writes,  "The  women  are  the 
most  industrious  sex  in  that  place,  and  by  their  good  house- 
wifery make  a  great  deal  of  cloth  of  their  own  cotton,  wool 
and  flax,  some  of  them  keeping  their  families,  though  large, 
very  decently  appareled,  both  with  linens  and  woollens,  so  that 
they  have  no  occasion  to  run  into  the  merchant's  debt,  or  lay 
their  money  out  in  stores  for  clothing."  The  lands,  too,  were 
about  one-fiftieth  the  price  of  those  in  Virginia  and  Maryland. 
So  we  are  not  surprised  to  read,  "We  have  yearly  abundance 
of  strangers  come  among  us,  who  chiefly  strive  to  go  southerly 


RELIGIOUS  CONDITION.  15 

to  settle,  because  tliere  is  a  vast  tract  of  rich  land  betwixt  the 
place  we  are  seated  in  and  Cape  Fear,  and  upon  that  river,  and' 
more  southerly,  which  is  inhabited  by  none  but  a  few  Indians,. 
who  are  at  this  time  well  affected  towards  the  English,  and  very 
desirous  of  their  coining  to  live  among  them."  ..."  And  as- 
there  is  a  free  exercise  of  all  persuasions  amongst  Christians, 
the  Lords  Proprietors  to  encourage  ministers  of  the  Church 
of  England  have  given  free  land  towards  the  maintenance  of  a 
church,  and  especially  for  the  parish  of  St.  Thomas,  in  Pamp- 
ticough."*  The  advantages  of  this  colony  were,  in  Mr.  Law- 
son's  opinion,  largely  above  those  of  any  other  in  many  im- 
portant respects;  and  this  could  not  be  so  reported  to  Lord 
Craven,  Palatine  and  the  Lords  Proprietors,  concerning  a  pro- 
vince, whose  inhabitants  were  generally,  or  to  any  considerable 
degree,  constituted  of  fugitives  from  justice,  or  other  disrepu- 
table and  disorderly  persons. 

BcftQtous  (totiCktttott^ 

The  proprietary  government,  after  sixty-six  years  of  blun- 
dering misrule,  was  closed  by  sale  to  the  Crown  in  1729.  The 
population  of  the  province  was  scattered  and  small,  amounting, 
perhaps,  to  13,000.  Scarcely  a  school  existed  in  the  colony. 
In  1709,  Pev.  Mr.  Gordon  wrote,  "The  people,  indeed,  are  ig- 
norant, there  being  few  that  can  read,  and  fewer  write,  even  of 
their  Justices  of  Peace  and  vestrymen."  His  field  had  been 
Perquimons,  Chowan  and  Pasquotank.  There  were  two  or 
three  rude  Episcopal  churches,  and  a  few  C^ualier  meeting- 
houses, but  not  one  clergyman  living  in  1729  in  the  "un- 
blessed" colony.  On  the  Boundary  Commission  of  1728,  there 
was  a  Virginia  Chaplain,  Pev.  Peter  Fontaine,  an  Episcopal 
minister,i'  appointed  partly  that  people  on  the  frontiers  of  North 
Carolina  might  get  themselves  and  children  baptized.     "There 

•  LawBon'B  Hist,  of  Carolina,  pp.  109,  127,  13"),  14.S,  272,  Ac. 
t  An  uncle  of  the  author,  removed  four  generatiouH  backwardK.     He  was 
Rector  of  Westover  Parish,  Va. 


16  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

were  Quakers  in  the  lower  end  of  Nansemond,"  said  Colonel 
Byrd,  "for  want  of  ministers  to  pilot  the  people  a  decenter 
way  to  heaven."  So  when  the  chaplain  "rubbed  us  up  with  a 
seasonable  sermon,  this  was  quite  a  new  thing  to  our  brethren 
of  North  Carolina,  who  live  in  a  climate  where  no  clergyman 
can  breath,  any  more  than  spiders  in  Ireland."  "For  want  of 
men  in  holy  orders,  both  the  members  of  the  council  and  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  are  empowered  by  the  laws  of  that  country 
to  marry  all  those  who  will  not  take  one  another's  word ;  but  for 
the  ceremony  of  christening  their  children,  they  trust  that  to 
chance.  If  a  parson  come  in  their  way,  they  will  crave  a  cast  of  his 
office,  a,6  they  call  it,  else  they  are  content  their  offspring  should 

remain  as  arrant  pagans  as  themselves They  have  the 

least  superstition  of  any  people  living.  They  do  not  know 
Sunday  from  any  other  day,  any  more  than  Kobinson  Crusoe 
did,  which  would  give  them  a  great  advantage  were  they  given 
to  be  industrious.  But  they  keep  so  many  Sabbaths  every 
week  that  their  disregard  of  the  seventh  day  has  no  manner 
of  cruelty  in  it,  either  to  servants  or  cattle." 

The  religious  aspect  of  the  colony  is  further  shown  by  "  our 
chaplain  taking  a  turn  to  Edenton,  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
infidels  there,  and  christen  their  children.  He  was  accom- 
panied thither  by  Mr.  Little,  one  of  the  Carolina  commis- 
sioners, who,  to  show  his  regard  for  the  Church,  offered  to 
treat  him  on  the  road  to  ?^fricai<see  of  rum.  They  fried  half  a 
dozen  rashers  of  very  fat  bacon  in  a  pint  of  rum,  both  of 
which  being  dished  up  together,  served  the  company  at  once 
both  for  meat  and  drink.  Most  of  the  rum  they  get  in  this 
country  comes  from  New  England,  and  is  so  bad  and  unwhole- 
some that  it  is  not  unfrequently  called  kUl-dev'iV  In  Eden- 
ton "there  may  be  forty  or  fifty  houses,  most  of  them  small, 
and  built  without  expense.  A  citizen  here  is  counted  extrava- 
gant if  he  has  ambition  enough  to  aspire  to  a  brick  chimney. 
Justice  itself  is  but  indifferently  lodged,  the  courthouse  having 
much  the  air  of  a  common  tobacco  house.  I  believe  this  is  the 
only  metropolis  in  the  Christian  or  Mahometan  world,  where 
there  is  neither  church,  chapel,  mosque,  synagogue,  or  any 


RELIGIODS  CONDITION.  17 

other  place  of  worship  of  any  sect  or  religion  whatsoever. 
What  little  devotion  there  may  happen  to  be  is  nnich  more 
private  than  their  vices.  The  people  seem  easy  without  a  min- 
ister, so  long  as  they  are  exempted  from  paying  him.  Some- 
times 'the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel'  has  had  the 
charity  to  send  over  missionaries  to  this  country;  but  unfortu- 
nately the  priest  lias  been  too  lewd  for  the  people,  or,  which 
oftener  happens,  they  too  lewd  for  the  priest.  For  these  rea- 
sons these  reverend  gentlemen  have  always  left  their  flocks  as 
arrant  heathen  as  they  found  them.  This  much,  however,  may 
be  said  for  the  inhabitants  of  Edenton,  that  not  a  soul  has  the 
least  taint  of  hypocrisy  or  superstition,  acting  very  frankly 
and  above-board  ia  all  their  excesses."  Here  Mr.  Fontaine 
"  preached  in  the  courthouse,  for  want  of  a  consecrated  place, 
and  made  no  less  than  nineteen  of  Fatlier  Plennepin's  Chris- 
tians." At  another  place  he  says,  "  We  christened  two  of  our 
landlord's  children,  which  might  have  remained  infidels  all 
their  lives,  had  we  not  carried  Christianity  home  to  his  own 
door.  The  truth  of  it  is,  our  neighbors  of  North  Carolina  are 
not  so  zealous  as  to  go  much  out  of  their  way  to  procure  this 
benefit  for  their  children,  otherwise,  being  so  near  Virginia, 
they  might,  without  exceeding  much  trouble,  make  a  journey 
to  the  next  clergyman,  upon  so  good  an  errand.  And,  indeed, 
should  the  neighboring  ministers,  once  in  two  or  three  years, 
vouchsafe  to  take  a  turn  among  these  Gentiles,  to  baptize  them 
and  their  children,  it  loould  look  a  little  apostolical,  and  they 
might  hope  to  be  rcipiited  for  it  hereafter,  if  that  he  not  thought 
too  long  to  tarry  for  their  reward ^  On  the  survey,  Sommer- 
ton  Chapel  was  tlirown  two  miles  over  the  Virginia  line ;  so 
Col.  Byrd  wrote,  "There  was  now  no  place  of  public  worship 
in  the  whole  province  of  North  Carolina."  As  was  shown 
above,  this  was  a  mistake,  though  not  far  from  the  truth. 
These  copious  excerpts  from  a  rare  contemporaneous  diary 
throw  light  on  the  spiritural  condition  of  the  province. 

An  occasional  minister  of  the  Church  of  England  was  sent 
to  Carolina,  and  remained  a  short  time,  but  none  before  1700. 
Several  were  so  utterly   unworthy   that  great  harm  resulted. 


18  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Dr.  Hawks,  himself  a  New  Bernian  and  an  Episcopalian,  says^ 
that  in  the  Proprietary  times  the  Episcopal  Church  was  a 
"helpless  victim,  dragged  into  an  unnatm-al  association  with 
the  dirty  strifes  of  still  dirtier  parties,  mixed  up  with  the  law- 
less deeds  of  clamorous  and  drunken  partizans."  Undoul)tedly 
religion  in  Eastern  Carolina  was  at  a  low  ebb  from  lack  of 
stated  ministers,  regular  church  services,  and  secular  schools. 

Judge  Martin  says  that,  at  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  the  population  of  the  colony  was  composed  of  differ- 
ent nationalities  and  various  sects — Scotch  Presbyterians,  Dutch 
Lutherans,  French  Calvinists,  Irish  Catholics,  English  Church- 
men, Quakers  and  Dissenters,  emigrants  from  Bermuda  and 
the  West  Indies.  And  while  the  first  settlers  preserved  some 
sense  of  religion,  the  next  generation,  reared  in  the  wilderness, 
where  divine  service  was  hardly  ever  performed,  was  lament- 
ably degenerate  in  religious  principle  and  practice.  At  this 
juncture.  Governor  Johnston  arrived,  and  under  the  influence 
of  Lord  Granville,  now  Palatine  of  Carolina,  made  the  de- 
termined and  partially  successful  effort — hereafter  referred  to — 
for  establishing  and  sustaining  by  law  the  Church  of  England. 

Quakers. 

To  the  honest  Quakers-  belongs  the  high  honor  of  holding 
the  first  formal  religious  service  in  this  colony,  and  organizing^ 
the  first  religions  government.  Churchmen  in  Virginia  and 
Puritans  in  Massachusetts  had  caused  them  to  fly  the  pillory, 
the  cart-tail  and  the  bloody  knout.  Historians  have  generally 
aflfirmed  that  thus  many  Quakers  early  fled  for  a  quiet  retreat  to 
Eastern  Carolina.  In  1709,  they  themselves  claimed  that  they 
were  the  first  settlers.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  some 
Quakers  were  among  the  very  first  to  enter  Albemarle  from 
Nansemond,  Virginia.  There  is  nothing,  however,  to  show 
that  large  numbers  came.  Most  information  yet  accessible  is 
from  the  brief  journals  of  Edmundson  and  Fox.*  In  1672, 
William  Edmundson,  an  eminent  English  Quaker,  was  sent  by 
George  Fox  from  Maryland,  where  they  had  recently  arrived,. 

*  Colonial  Eecords,  i.,  215,  216,  226,  250,  571,  686,  &c. 


QUAKERS.  19 

to  North  Carolina.  Accompanied  by  two  friends,  after  a  dis- 
tressing journey  of  two  days  tlirough  a  wilderness,  with  no 
English  inhabitants,  and  no  path-ways,  he  reached  "the  place 
where  we  intended,  viz.,  Henry  Phillip's  honse,  by  Albemarle 
Kiver"  (Perquimon's  River,  says  Martin),  "lie  and  his  wife 
had  been  convinced  of  the  truth  in  New  England,  and  came 
here  to  live;  and  not  having  seen  a  Friend  for  seven  years  be- 
fore, they  wept  for  j  )y  to  see  us."  Phillips  and  his  w'ife  were 
the  only  two  Friends  he  mentions  meeting  in  this  brief  visit 
of  three  days.  Warmly  welcomed,  he  here  celebrated  the  first 
puUie  rites  of  Christian  ivorshiji  in  Carolina.  Others  now  re- 
ceived the  truth,  and  were  enrolled  at  this  meeting  on  the  Lord's 
da}',  and  another  held  on  the  morrow  at  Justice  Tems.  Many 
attended  the  services.  They  had  little  or  no  religion,  or  sense 
of  the  proprieties  of  divine  worship,  for  they  sat  smoking  their 
pipes ;  but  the  Word  of  God  was  with  power  on  their  hearts. 

In  the  Fall  of  the  same  year,  the  distinguished  George  Fox 
made  a  preaching  tour  of  eighteen  days  in  the  Albemarle  re- 
gion; but  Edmundson  was  not  with  him,  as  Dr.  Hawks  states. 
Fox,  the  envoy  of  humanity,  with  the  charming  simplicity  of 
Solon  and  Thales,  travelled  with  Governor  Stevens  on  foot 
through  the  ancient  woods — the  trees  being  blazed  to  mark  the 
roads  between  the  sparse  settlements, — or  was  guided  by  others 
in  canoes  towards  "  the  north  part  of  Carolina,"  and  making  a 
little  entiance  for  the  truth  there  and  among  the  Indians, 
returned  to  Bonner's  (Bonnet's)  Creek,  where  the  horses  had 
been  left.  The  people  were  "  tender  and  much  desired  after 
meetings,"  "and  they  were  taken  with  the  truth."  Ashe 
"opened  many  things  concerning  the  light  and  Spirit  of  God 
that  is  in  every  one,"  his  eloquence  reached  the  hearts  of  these 
hermits  of  the  woods,  and  impressed  them  anew  with  the  value 
of  their  heritage  of  freedom  of  conscience,  and  of  the  truth  of 
God  with  benevolent  reason  to  guide  them  in  the  happy  paths 
of  hospitality,  virtue  and  piety,  that  are  still  trodden  by  their 
children  in  the  old  North  State.  As  this  venerable  apostle  of 
humanity  and  equality  was  closing  his  exile  on  earth  to  go 
home,  his  vivid   memory  recalled  such  episodes  of  the  forest 


20  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

glades,  and  his  last  words  were,  ^^ Mind  poor  Friends  in  Amer- 
ica.'''' How  beautiful  his  brief  epitaph  by  his  peer,  William 
Penn,  "Many  sons  have  done  virtuously  in  this  day,  but,  dear 
George,  thou  excellest  them  all!" 

In  1676,  Edmnndson  "was  moved  of  the  Lord  to  go  to  Car- 
olina" on  a  second  visit.  His  short  journal  of  the  trip  ends 
thus:  "I  had  several  precious  meetings  in  that  colony,  and 
several  turned  to  the  Lord.  People  were  tender  and  loving, 
and  there  was  no  rooin  for  tJie  priests^  for  Friends  v)ere  fnely 
settled^  and  I  left  things  ivell  among  themr  While  in  1672, 
neither  of  these  preachers  met  all  the  Quakers  in  the  province, 
it  seems  certain  they  were  not  numerous.  Considerable  growth 
had  occurred  before  Edmundson's  return.  In  the  Shaftesbury 
papers,  in  the  British  Public  Record  Office,  is  a  remonstrance, 
sent  to  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and  signed  by  twenty-one 
Quakers,  some  of  whom  were  prominent  men,  members  of  the 
Assembly.  Most  of  them  had  been  living  in  Carolina  since 
1663  and  1664,  and  they  were  vindicating  themselves  as  "  a 
separated  people,  who  are  in  scorn  called  Quakers,"  but  had 
"  stood  single  from  all  seditious  actions  in  Albemarle,"  in  1677. 
They  and  others  may  have  entered  Carolina  as  Friends. 
In  later  years,  Thomas  Story,  an  English  Quaker,  and  Gover- 
nor Archdale,  also  one,  increased  greatly  the  influence  of  the 
body.  Henderson  Walker,  who  was  at  different  times  member, 
clerk  and  President  of  council,  Attorney-General  and  acting 
Governor,  says,  in  a  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  London  in  1703, 
"We  have  been  settled  near  fifty  years  in  this  place"  (Caro- 
lina), "and,  I  may  justly  say,  most  part  of  twentj'-one  years,  on 
my  own  knowledge,  without  priest  or  altar,  and  before  that 
time,  according  to  all  that  appears  to  me,  much  worse.  George 
Fox,  some  years  ago,  came  into  these  parts,  and,  by  strange  in- 
fatuations, did  infuse  the  Quaker  principles  into  some  small 
number  of  people,  which  did  and  hath  continued  to  grow  ever 
since  very  numerous,  by  reason  of  their  yearly  sending  in  men 
to  encourage  and  to  exhort  them  to  their  wicked  principles." 
They  fortunately  continued  to  grow,  and  formed  the  nucleus 
around  which  gathered  mainly  friends  of  liberty  and  foes  to  a 


GENERAL  CHARACTER.  21 

Church  establishment.  In  these  early  days  Dissenters  outnum- 
bered Episcopalians.  There  are  not  many  Churchmen  recorded 
as  coming  to  the  communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper — even  Colonel 
Pollock  was  sluggish  about  it.  In  1708,  Rev.  James  Adams  an- 
grily wrote  that  the  Quakers, "  though  not  the  seventh  part  of  the 
inhabitants,"  in  conjunction  with  the  rresbytorians,  coTitrolled 
the  government,  and  absolutely  turned  out  patriots,  because 
they  were  Churchmen,  that  "shoemakers  and  other  mechanics 
should  be  appointed  in  their  room,  merely  because  they  are 
Quaker  preachers  and  notorious  blasphemers  of  the  Church !" 
Dr.  Hawks  estimates  that,  in  ITIO,  the  Quakers  composed  about 
one-half  of  the  Albemarle  settlement,  and  that  the  whole  popu- 
lation of  the  province  was  not  seven  thousand.  From  these 
Quakers  has  come  valuable  Presbyterian  stock. 

Martin  (I.,  p.  155)  says  that  before  Edumndson  left,  he  es- 
tablished a  (juarterly  meeting  in  Berkley  for  proper  govern- 
ment and  discipline.  Of  the  eight  Quarterly  Meetings,  which 
constitute  the  present  North  Carolina  Yearly  Meeting,  four 
were  established,  as  follows:  in  1689,  1759,  1780  and  1790. 
The  otiiers  arose  in  this  century.  At  present  the  Quakers  in 
this  State  number  about  5,000,  and  are  most  valuable  citizens. 
In  colonial  days  they  were  not  as  quiet  as  their  principles  re- 
quired, and  doubtless  troublous  times  brought  insincere  acces- 
sions to  their  ranks.  They  were  not  perfect,  neither  were  the 
Clnmthmen  or  others  who  roundly  abused  them.  At  first  their 
strength  lay  chiefly  in  Pcrquimons  and  Pasquotank;  l)ut  they 
multiplied  and  spread.  When  Judge  Iredell,  as  a  young  man, 
came  from  England  to  North  Carolina,  in  1768,  he  was  com- 
mended by  his  relative,  Henry  E.  McCulloch,  to  a  prominent 
and  substantial  Quaker  merchant,  named  Williams,  in  New 
Bern,  "  who  will  supply  you  with  what  money  you  want,  and 
show  you  every  civility."* 

Of  the  settlers  for  the  first  hundred  years,  it  may  be  said, 
there  were  many  highly  educated  citizens  scattered  throughout 

♦  Life  of  Iredell,  Vcl.  I.,  21. 


22  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

the  province,  who  lived  with  considerable  style  and  refinement. 
Sturdy,  honest  and  liospital)le  agriculturalists  gathered  around 
themselves  elements  of  large  future  development,  and  their 
premises  showed  industry  and  care.  Yet  there  was  a  vast 
amount  of  ignorance,  and  perhaps  even  prejudice,  against  learn- 
ing. Many  were  very  lazy  and  shiftless,  and  there  were  some 
transported  criminals,  and  some  fugitives  from  justice.  But 
80  scattered  was  the  population  that  it  was  extremely  difficult 
to  organize  either  churches  or  schools,  and  there  were  few  of 
either.*  Ignorance  and  lack  of  religious  culture  and  social  in- 
tercourse ensure  narrow  views  and  dangerous  degeneration. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  we  read  such  contemporary  statements 
as  this,  written  by  Rev.  Peter  Fontaine  in  a  private  letter,  17th 
April,  1754,  about  North  Carolina:  "  They  have  no  established 
laws,  and  very  little  of  the  Gospel,  in  that  whole  colony."  He 
had  two  married  nepliews  living  then  in  New  Bern,  with  whom 
he  was  in  communication,  and  whom  he  was  begging  to  move 
*' where  they  may  be  under  the  protection  of  the  laws  as  to 
property,  and  have  their  children  educated  in  the  fear  of  God." 
The  nephews  did  not  emigrate,  but  bought  considerable  pro- 
perty in  New  Bern,  which  I  have  traced  out  and  identified,  as 
that  in  part,  upon  which  now  stand  the  residences  of  Messrs. 
James  Bryan  and  C.  E.  Foy,  and  the  Boman  Catholic  Church. 
Middle  and  Western  North  Carolina  were  filling  up,  and  the 
stock,  though  neglected,  was  good,  and  improvement  was  be- 
ginning. "Sombre  enthusiasm,  and  iron-hearted  ambition," 
royal  looseness  and  luxury,  and  too  large  a  measure  of  religious 
narrowness,  had  characterized  the  past  age,  and  yielded  a 
strange  medley  in  public  and  private  history.  Yet  in  these 
secluded  plains  and  sylvan  retreats,  a  subtle  transformation  was 
going  on,  and  a  light  kindling,  whose  result  was  a  people  cau- 
tious, but  not  stolid,  with  simple  tastes,  but  clear  and  inflexible 
opinions,  with  no  fabulous  wealth,  but  comforts  and  self-re- 


*  In  1736,  Governor  John&ton  deplored  before  the  Legislature  in  Edenton 
the  sad  lack  of  schools  and  churches.  Some  of  the  wealthy  citizens  seat  their 
eons  to  be  educated  in  England,  or  at  William  and  Mary  in  Virginia,  or 
Princeton  in  New  Jersey. 


RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY.  23 

liance,  with  unquenchable  love  of  liberty,  unflincliing  bravery, 
and  tender  hearts  Ireely  opened  to  the  Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
whenever  brought  to  them  in  public  by  the  godly,  though  in- 
frequent herald  of  the  cross. 

Some  misunderstanding  has  existed,  through  a  spirit  of  con- 
troversy or  otherwise,  about  the  posture  of  ecclesiastical  af- 
fairs in  colonial  times.  With  a  great  blare  of  trumpets,  the 
Lords  Proprietors  professed,  in  settling  North  Carolina,  to 
have  pious  zeal  for  Christ's  cause  in  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen  natives.  But  Oldmixon,  a  distinguished  English  au- 
thor, who  died  in  1742,  says  that  the  only  instruction  which 
the  Indians  received,  previous  to  1701,  was  from  a  French 
dancing  master,  who  settled  in  Craven  County^  and  taught  the 
natives  to  dance  and  play  upon  the  lute.  Certainly  very  little 
attention  was  given  to  the  conversion  of  the  Indians.  A  few 
were  tauglit  in  Chowan  parish.  This  illustrates  the  complexion 
of  the  charter  piety.  Religious  liberty,  or  rather  toleration  as 
to  conscience  and  worship,  was  guaranteed  to  all  comers,  even 
heatlien,  but  under  restrictions — not  expressed  in  t/ie  charters — 
but  to  be  regulated  by  the  Lords  Proprietors,  with  the  Parlia- 
ment and  Crown,  however,  still  holding  supervisory  power.  So 
it  may  be  denied  that  the  Episcopal  Church  ever  was  fully  es- 
tablislied  here  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  in  lingland,  or 
that  it  was  pecuniarily  supported  by  the  English  Parliament. 
Yet  English  funds,  througli  the  "Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel,"  and  from  private  sources  in  England,  were  en- 
listed in  its  maintenance.  Further,  it  seems  to  be  certain,  from 
the  best  authorities,  tliat,  unless  for  a  short  time  in  the  early 
proprietary  period,  the  Episcopal  Church  was  never  in  the  nu- 
merical majority  in  the  cohmy  as  a  whole,  but  it  had  prominent 
and  zealous  adherents  and  leaders,  like  Mosely,  Gales,  tlie  Pol- 
locks, and  generally  the  deputies  of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and 
the  Governors,  and  this  naturally  gave  many  advantages  and 
increased  influence  and  power  to  the  weaker  party. 


24  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  Church  of  England  was  the  established  Church  of  the 
colony.  It  is  folly  to  fence  against  this  fact  by  alleging  that 
the  only  effective  act  establishing  the  Church  was  that  of  1765, 
under  Governor  Tr3^on.  That  act  would  probably  have  fared 
w^orse  than  its  predecessors  in  a  few  years.  Now,  unquestion- 
ably both  charters  of  Charles  II.,  and  Locke's  Constitutions,  in 
section  96,  added  by  the  Lords  Proprietors,  regarded  the 
Church  of  England  as  the  establishment  in  the  Carolinas.* 
Indeed,  there  was  apparently  a  common  sentiment  among 
Christians,  that  there  ought  to  be  some  legal  establishment  of 
the  Christian  religion  in  any  State,  as  to  its  fundamental  prin- 
ciples, and  as  against  the  Papal  claims;  and  the  Thirty-nine 
Articles  of  the  English  Church,  with  a  few  excluded,  were 
generally  considered  as  a  satisfactory  exposition.  Put  outside 
of  Episcopalians  and  Papists,  there  was  just  as  unanimous  op- 
position to  establishing  any  special  church  with  any  peculiar 
privileges.  This  is  clear  from  the  instructions  given  to  the 
Mecklenburg  delegates  to  the  Provincial  Convention  in  1775, 
that  they  were  to  "consent  to  the  establishment  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  as  contained  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments,  and  more  briefly  comprised  in  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England"  (with  specified  ex- 
clusions), "and  clearly  held  forth  in  the  Confession  of  Faith 
compiled  by  the  Assembly  of  Divines  at  Westminster,"  etc. 
They  were  further  "instructed  to  oppose  to  the  utmost  any 
particular  church,  or  set  of  clergymen,  being  invested  with 
power  to  decree  rites  and  ceremonies,"  etc. ;  ..."  to  oppose 
the  establishment  of  any  mode  of  worship  to  be  supported," 
etc.;  ....  "to  oppose  the  toleration  of  Popish  idolatrous 
worship."  By  this  time  Episcopalians  themselves  were  uniting 
with  their  fellow  Christians  of  other  churches  in  determination 
to  secure  both  civil  and  religious  liberty.  So  it  is  said  that 
Churchmen  joined  with  Dissenters  in  the  Halifax  Convention 

♦Hawks,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  166,  190,  357,  506,  Slc.  ;  Bancroft,  II.,  150;  Colonial 
Records,  Vol.  I. ,  202,  &c. 


AN  ESTABLISHED  CHURCH.  25 

of  1776,  which  established  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  in 
throttling  a  proposition,  introduced  by  an  Episcopalian,  to  re- 
cognize in  some  form  Episcopal  doctrines. 

Now,  though  in  a  large  minority,  the  Episcopal  faction  suc- 
ceeded, by  astute  management,  as  early  as  1701,  in  passing  an 
act,  regarded  as  oppressive  and  tyrannical,  establishing  by  ex- 
plicit colonial  legislation  their  church.  This  act  was  in  force 
only  two  years,  having  been  repealed  on  an  appeal  to  England. 
In  1704,  the  famous,  or  rather,  the  infamous,  act  establishing 
the  Church  of  England  in  South  Carolina,  was  obtained  by 
Governor  Johnston,  according  to  Dr.  Hawks,  by  "political 
trickery"  and  "dexterous  management  of  the  rulers,"  against 
the  wishes  of  the  people.  Governor  Johnston's  deputy,  Daniel, 
following  his  instructions,  "  by  his  address  and  skilful  political 
manipulation,"  secured  the  pagsage  of  a  similar  law  by  the  Al- 
bemarle Legislature  for  North  Carolina.  It  is  only  necessary 
to  examine,  in  a  revisal  of  the  laws  of  North  Carolina  by  Davis 
or  Martin,  the  Acts  in  1715,  1741,  1754,  1759,  1764-'5,  to 
learn  the  unquestionable  fact,  that  a  fixed  and  persistent  effort 
was  never  relaxed  to  fasten  on  an  unwilling  people,  by  effective 
legislation,  an  Episcopal  establishment  xoith  an  adequate  sup- 
2)ort  by  taxation.  How  often  was  the  endeavor  made  by  va- 
rious legislation  to  estop  the  divers  evasions  of  the  Vestry  Acts ! 
Taxes  were  imposed  for  purchasing  ample  glebes,  building 
comfortable  churches,  and  paying  stipends  to  ministers,  all  of 
the  establishment.  By  a  bare  majority — ohtained  vydli  dif- 
ficulty— dissenters  were  disfranchised  by  requiring  members 
of  the  Legislature  to  conform  to  the  worship  of  the  Church  of 
England,  and  to  receive  the  communion  after  its  rules.*  In  the 
"Collections  of  the  Historical  Society  of  South  Carolina,"  is 
this  illustrative  statement,  from  an  address  by  James  Lewis 
Pettigru :  "  The  elective  franchise  was  liberally  diffused ;  but 
the  test  and  corporation  acts  guarded  with  jealousy  the  steps  of 
the  provincial  assembly,  as  they  did  those  of  the  imperial  pai-- 

*  Some,  however,  think  this  provision  prevailed  in  South  Carolina  only  ;  but 
in  Daniel's  time  all  holding  any  place  of  trust  or  profit  were  required  to  take 
certain  purging  oaths.     Bancroft,  iii.  21  ;  Martin,  i.  217-L'2.3  ;  Hawks,  ii.  lOG, 
190,  358,  506-512;  Williamson,  i.  15S,  1(;7,  etc.  ;  Moore,  .">]. 
2 


26  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

liament;  and  the  avenues  to  office  were  closed  to  all  but  the 
dominant  sect.  This  state  of  things  existed  until  1778, — a  le- 
gislative fact  strangely  ignored  in  the  voluminous  collection  of 
Cooper."     A  similar  spirit  was  abroad  in  this  province. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Col.  W.  L.  Saunders,  Secretary  of 
State  of  North  Carolina,  I  have  carefully  examined  the  advance 
(proof)  sheets  of  tlie  invaluable  "Colonial  Records,"  now  in 
press  under  his  care,  as  far  as  November,  1718.  The  records 
of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  addresses 
and  memoi'ials  to  Parliament  and  to  others,  the  minutes  of  the 
Chowan  Vestries  from  1701,  Col.  Pollock's  letter-book,  records 
of  courts,  and  a  vast  variety  of  other  heretofore  hidden  docu- 
ments, all  confirm  these  statements.  Here  we  get  the  exact 
date  of  the  early  and,  perhaps,  fii-st  act  of  Assembly  for  estab- 
lishing religious  worship,  vestries,  churches,  and  glebes,  by 
public  taxation,  viz.:  November  12,  1701.""  An  insight  is  ob- 
tained into  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  colonists,  and  the 
working  of  the  early  Proprietary  legislation  before  we  liave 
public  official  records.  The  support  for  the  clergy  was  both 
meagre  and  reluctant;  often  withheld.  Their  complaints  were 
loud,  lacking  in  grace,  frequently  bitter  and  unreasonable  be- 
cause of  their  own  conduct.  One  writes:  "I  never  received 
the  value  of  a  Bushel  of  Corn  since  1  was  concerned  here,  but 
what  1  got  by  weddings.  .  .  .  The  difficulties  I  have  gone 
through  are  almost  inexpressible,  and  one  distemper  or  another, 
like  the  Thunder  and  Lightning,  continually  disturl)ing  me." 
Another  says:  "I  did  once  hope  to  have  Pork  and  Bacon  of 
my  own,  but  shall  not  have  a  morsel  save  wheat  I  feed  with  In- 
dian Corn,  which  is  very  scarce  with  me.  I  have  not  enough 
to  keep  me  with  Bread  six  months — no  Beef,  Butter  or  Cheese, 
no  fat  to  butter  one  nor  make  soap,  no  Tallow  to 

make  me  a  few  candles,  so  that  we  shall  have  a  tedious  winter 
long  and  Dark  nights,  hungry  bellies,  and  dirty  linen.  I  have 
nothing  to  buy  with,  let  one's  wants  be  what  they  will ;  swamp 
water  goes  down  worse  in  Winter  than  in  Summer.  .  .  .  'Tis 
strange  living  when  a  man  is  continually  cracking  his  Brains 
how  to  get  a  Belly  full  of  meat."     Again,  "I  have  had  no 

*  Vol.  i.,  543. 


AN  ESTABLISHED  CHURCH.  27 

Beef  in  my  house  these  six  months  nor  anything  else  save  fat 
poriv  and  that  ahnost  gone.  I  got  by  chance  a  barrel  which 
has  been  in  salt  18  months;  it  is  protitable  victuals,  a  little 
goes  a  great  way:  I  have  no  other  eatables;  Peas  and  Beans 
I  am  like  to  have  some  but  neither  Bacon  or  Butter  to  eat 

with    them — Jovial  living If   I   must  linger  out   my 

days  here  I  must  have  a  couple  of  Negroes  and  a  woman  all 
born  among  the  English,  the  woman  used  to  house- work. 
....  I  went  this  winter  7  times  to  the  Church  in  the 
neighborhood  (/  e  that  is  four  miles  distance)  and  met  not  a 
congregation;  so  indifferent  are  our  Gentry  in  their  Religion 
they  had  rather  never  come  to  church  tlian  be  obliged  to  pay 
me  anything,  they  cannot  endu;-e  the  thoughts  of  it."*  Yet 
the  Rev.  William  Gordon  says  himself,  in  1709,  that  troubles 
arose  from  the  "ill  example  and  imprudent  behaviour  of  the 
ministers." 

The  Church  of  England  was  claimed  emphatically  and  com- 
monly as  established  by  law,  and  entitled  to  support  by  the 
general  public.  While  some  of  these  preaeliers  of  Proprietary 
days  were  good  men,  and  did,  or  meant  to  do,  a  fair  work  in 
a  hard  field;  yet  the  general  impression  about  their  labors, 
from  extant  documents,  is  not  very  favorable.  They  were  im- 
pelled by  a  burning  agony  to  l)aptize  the  children,  that  the 
people  might  be  kept  froni  becoming  heathens  and  infidels. 
One  would  almost  infer  that  infant  haptisiix  was  the  prime  ob- 
ject of  Christ's  mission  on  earth.  Sharpest  comment  is  made 
on  the  people's  "obstinate  aversion  to  god-fathers  and  god- 
mothers; neither  sense  nor  reason  could  prevail  with  them." 
What  reprol)ates!  What  reason  could  tliey  give?  "There- 
fore, in  anywise  will  not  have  their  children  baptized  others 
think  nobody  more  fit  than  their  parents;  to  tell  them  of  the 
orders  of  the  Church  avails  not  they'll  not  hearken  to  the  or- 
dinances of  man  l)ut  will  have  expr^ess  scnpture  fur  all  they  are 
to  do  or  ohi>erveP  This  looks  like  the  people  were  sensible,  and 
that  the  preacher  thought  of  something  else  more  than  of  God's 
Word.  Governor  Eden,  in  171G-'17,  testified  that  tlie  people 
'•^  are  not  so  Hack  as  they  have  been  painted^''  but  would  be 

*  Vol.  ii.,  54,  248,  279,  etc. 


28  NORTH  CABOLINA. 

found  well  enongli  inclined  'if  the  ministers  ''''are  gentlemen  of 
good  lives  and  affable  hehaviour  and  conversation.''^  Here  was 
another  proof  that  the  majority  of  the  population  was  opposed 
to  the  Established  Church,  as  is  positively  declared  in  a  formal 
address  to  the  Parliament  in  England  in  1705.* 

In  Kowan  County,  about  1764-'5  probably,  a  petition  was 
sent  to  the  Governor,  Council  and  Burgesses,  in  which  "  the  pe- 
titioners complain,  that  his  majesty's  most  dutiful  and  loyal  sub- 
jects in  this  county,  who  adhere  to  the  liturgy  and  profess  the 
doctrines  of  the  Church  of  England,  as  by  law  established,  have 
not  the  privileges  which  the  rubrick  and  canons  of  the  Church 
allow  and  enjoin  on  all  its  members."  They  recite  the  fact 
that  the  inhabitants  hold  a  "medlay  of  most  of  the  religious 
tenets"  in  the  world,  and  '■''from  dread  of  sxibmitting  to  the  na- 
tional Chnrch,^''  refuse  to  elect  a  lawful  vestry,  who  will  take 
the  oaths;  ^'■whence  we  can  tiever  expect  the  regular  enlivening 
beams  of  the  Holy  Gospel  to  shine  upon  us^  So  they  pray  for 
compulsion  of  this  unwilling  multitude,  that  the  godly  seed  may 
get  an  Episcopal  Church,  under  the  provision  of  what  William- 
son terms  a  "  shameful  law,"  (Vol.  ii.,  118,)  and  a  system  which 
Hawks  characterizes  as  "  infatuated  folly,"  and  kindling  "  the 
torch  of  discord"  (ii.,  506).  Now,  Williamson  says,  "There 
were  thirty  four  subscribers  to  this  petition;  six  oi  them  made 
their  marks,  and  some  of  the  other  signatures  are  hardly  legi- 
ble. Whe7i  thirtyfour  such  persons  could  propose  that  six  or 
seven  hundred  should  be  taxed  for  their  accomm,odation,  they 
certainly  had  need  of  the  Gospel  that  teaches  humility.^''  The 
largest  supposition  made  by  a  recent  historian  t  of  Rowan 
County  is,  that  the  adherents  of  the  Established  Church  may 
have  been  one-third  of  the  whole  population.  Evidently  Dr. 
Williamson,  writing  within  a  few  years  of  the  time  when  the 
petition  was  presented,  did  not  estimate  them  as  so  many. 

Continual  resistance  was  made  to  these  acts.  Appeals  were 
sent  to  England,  and  time  and  again,  after  long  delays,  they 
were  pronounced  illegal,  and  quashed;  but  the  attempts  were 

♦  Colonial  Records,  Vol.  i.,  pp.  543,  559,  571,  601,  636-9,  714,  767,  etc. 
tRumple's  Eowan,  p.  383  ;  Williamson,  ii.,  258. 


AN  ESTABLISHED  CHUECH.  29 

regularly  renewed,  and  were  even  partially  submitted  to.  How 
many  churches,  glebes  and  stipends  were  obtained  in  whole 
or  in  part,  under  this  legislation,  will,  perhaps,  never  be  known. 
Old  records  will  disprove  assertions  that  little  was  collected. 
Accidentally,  I  found  the  following  record  in  the  written  min- 
utes of  Craven  County  Court,  June  20th,  1740 : 

"it  was  ordered  that  John  Bryan  Esq',  receive  the  remaining  jiart  of 
the  Levys  laid  for  the  church  by  the  former  vestry,  and  he  gives  Se- 
curetys,  Col.  Wilson  and  John  Fonveille  Jun' .  in  the  sum  of  500£  Prod 
money." 

A  similar  entry  is  made  at  September  court  following.  The 
amount  received  is  not  given ;  nor  can  it  be  ascertained  how 
long  the  levy  was  continued  here;  but  probably  for  years,  as 
the  Episcopal  Church  was  not  completed  until  near  1750,  and 
there  was  no  rector  until  about  1754.  Sometimes  there  was 
no  Episcopal  preacher  in  the  whole  colony.  In  1725,  there 
was  only  one  for  eleven  parishes ;  there  were  only  from  seven 
to  ten  here  altogether  during  tlie  Proprietary  period,  and  three 
of  these  did  great  harm  to  morals  and  religion;  in  1704,  there 
were  only  six  to  supply  twenty-nine  parishes,  each  embracing  a 
whole  county.  From  1662  to  1775,  only  about  fifty-two  Epis- 
copal clergymen  had  ever  been  in  North  Carolina. 

Hardships  and  injustice,  and  in  a  few  cases,  perhaps,  bodily 
sufferings,  were  thus  inflicted  on  dissenters.  This  was  not  done 
by  ecclesiastical  courts,  but  by  civil,  under  the  laws  of  England, 
or  of  the  Colonial  Legislature ;  illegal  laws  sometimes,  but  the 
fruit  of  churclily  plans,  desires  and  efforts.  No  spirit  of  perse- 
cution prevailed,  but  wrong  ideas  about  the  relation  of  Church 
and  State,  and  true  religious  liberty.  So,  doubtless,  the  Colo- 
nial Estal)Hshment  was  always  a  mongrel  affair,  unsatisfactory 
to  both  churchmen  and  dissenters,  and  never  complete. 

Governors  were  instructed  to  maintain  the  ecclesiastical  au- 
thority of  the  Bishop  of  London.  Even  a  school-master  was 
required  to  have  his  license  from  the  Bishop  of  London  to  teach 
geography,  aritlnnetic  and  writing;  and  only  in  1760  or  1770 
■was  the  law  repealed  which  forbade  Presbyterian  minisster  to 


30  NOKTH  CAROLINA. 

perform  marriage  ceremonies  for  members  of  their  own  flocks, 
though  civil  magistrates  had  been  authorized  so  to  do. 

I  have  found  an  original  marriage  license,  issued  by  Governor 
Tryon,  and  illustrating  the  change  in  the  law ;  and  give  a  copy 
of  it  on  the  opposite  page. 

In  England,  Americans  were  told  that,  in  spite  of  all  tlie  Pres^ 
byterian  opposition,  bishops  would  he  settled  in  America.  No 
wonder  the  people  actually  rejected  tlie  word  "  church"  as  odious, 
and  substituted  for  it — as  we  shall  see — the  term  "meeting- 
house," which  is  the  consecrated  name  given  by  God  himself  to 
his  tabernacle,  where  he  promised  to  meet  with  his  people.  Of 
course,  resistance  was  made  to  many  of  these  regulations,  and 
witli  success,  by  the  dissenting  majority.  After  the  "Revolu- 
tion, a  portion  of  the  property  thus  unjustly  wrung  out  of  the 
pockets  of  reluctant  dissenters  was,  by  appropriate  legislation, 
rightly  converted  to  public  uses. 

This  seems  to  be  an  accurate  general  summary  of  facts  about 
the  "Colonial  Established  Church."  It  is  not  intended  to  cast 
any  reproach  whatever  upon  the  Episcopal  Church  of  this  day 
by  a  recital  of  the  sad  story  of  so  much  trouble,  but  merely  to 
body  forth  the  color  and  temper  of  those  early  formative  days. 
Episcopalians  stand  now  on  the  same  platform  with  Presbyte- 
rians, Methodists,  Baptists,  and  other  churches,  in  repudiating 
church  establishments  in  the  United  States,  condenming  these 
colonial  schemes,  and  defending  the  doctrine  of  religious  liberty 
and  equality. 

Nevertheless,  Presbyterian  influence  increased  steadily,  and 
became  powerful,  if  not  dominant,  in  North  Carolina.  This 
was,  indeed,  chiefly  through  that  section  of  the  State  with  which 
we  are  not  at  present  particularly  concerned.  In  the  East, 
Presbyterianism  has  liad  but  few  strong  centres  until  recent 
times.  But  Sir  Wm.  Berkley,  one  of  the  proprietors,  and  the 
Governor  of  Virginia,  in  1663,  appointed  William  Drummond, 
an  old-fashioned  Scotch  Presbyterian,*  "  a  man  of  prudence  and 

*  Craighead's  Scotch  aud  Irish  Seeds  in  America,  pp.  267,  319  ;  Maclean's 
History  of  Princeton  College. 


NORTH-CAROLINA,  fF. 


^J^ 


'KJiT^L^  t4^a.i^i^n^ 


HIS     EXCELLENCY 

WILLIAM     TRYON,      Efq. 
Captain-General,  Governor  and  Corn- 
mander  in  Chief,  in  and  over  his  Maj- 

efty's   Province  o{  North-Carolina, 

To  any  Orthodox  MINISTER  of  the  Church  of  Encrland,  or  for 
Want  thereof,  to  any  reg-ular  Hcenced  Minifter  of  the  diffent- 
ing  Presbyterian  Clergy,  or  lawful  Magiftrate  within  the 
fame.     Greeting. 

BY  Virtue  of  the  Power  and  Authority  to  Me  Given,  as  Governor  and 
Commander  in  Chief,  in  and  over  this  Province,  (Certificate  having 
been  made  to  Me,  by  ^tanct^}.  Jfaa/i,  Clerk  of  £>ianae  County 
Court,  that  the  Bond  as  by  Law  required,  hath  been  taken  and  filed  by 
him  in  his  Office)  I  DO  hereby  Allow,  Admit,  and  Licence  you,  or  any  of  you, 
to  Celebrate  and  Solemnize  the  Rites  of  Matrimony  between  S^ov£.  tyYac€ 
^  %yf&atma  K/mc?iau ,  and  to  join  them  together,  as  Man  and  Wife,  in  Holy 
Matrimony. 

GIVEN  under  my  Hand  and  Seal  at  <^c//aVctou^d  this  SAl/i  Day  of 
^tc/f/^  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord  1769  and  in  the  v^^ivZ/^Year  of  his  Maj- 
efty's  Reign. 


Note.— The  name  of  "John  Hawks"  Bbould  not  appear  on  this  document,  with  the  Seal  of  Trj'on  above. 


PRESBYTERIAN  INFLUENCE.  3l 

popularity,  deeply  imbued  with  the  passion  for  popular  lib- 
erty," to  be  the  lirst  Governor  of  Albemarle.  Dr.  Briekell, 
whose  history  was  published  in  Dublin  in  1737,  and  includes  his 
observations  on  the  province  from  1730  to  1737,  refers  to  the 
Presbyterians  as  an  important  element  then.  Dr.  Hawks  testi- 
fies that  the  Presbyterians  in  Albemarle,  though  not  numerous, 
^^  had  real  religion  atnid  those  without  God  i?i  the  world.'''' 
Their  influence  for  good  in  every  direction  was  most  marked, 
and  was  combined  with  that  of  the  Quakers  in  moulding  the 
character  of  the  infant  State.  Looking  down  on  the  other  side 
of  New  Bern,  along  and  East  of  the  Cape  Fear,  we  admire  the 
uplift  given  to  Carolina's  fame  by  a  healthy,  robust,  truth-lov- 
ing and  liberty-loving  Calvinistic  faith. 

Passing  over  some  years,  a  few  notable  facts  will  signalize 
the  sweep,  dignity,  and  worth  of  this  influence. 

The  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland  was  the  cradle  of  American 
Presbyterianism.  Rev.  Francis  Makemie,  from  the  Presbytery 
of  Laggan,  near  Londonderry,  Ireland,  was  the  apostolic  Bishop 
who  presided  over  and  guided  its  young  life,  about  1683,  at 
Snow  Hill,  Maryland.  He  was  a  hero  fresh  from  the  dragon- 
ades  of  the  loyal  churchman  and  incarnate  fiend,  Claverhouse. 
When  the  first  Presbytery,  tluit  of  Philadelphia,  was  organized, 
in  1705,  four  of  its  ministers  were  from  this  Eastern  Shore, 
Mr.  Makemie  being  one.  In  1743,  Kev.  William  Robinson, 
who  was  of  Quaker  stock,  though  himself  a  Presbyterian  and  a 
man  of  distinguished  ability,  was  preaching  in  North  Carolina. 
A  supplication  was  made  to  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  in  1744, 
from  Carolina,  showing  their  desolate  condition,  and  petitioning 
for  help.  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  the  future  President  of  Prince- 
ton College,  speaks,  in  1751,  of  the  fewness  and  savage  igno- 
rance of  the  inhabitants  as  causing  Mr.  Robinson  much  hard- 
ship, and  robbing  his  visit  of  much  success.  But,  in  1755, 
several  ministers  having  spent  some  time  among  them  in  mis- 
sionary labors,  whereas  there  had  been  hardly  any  appearance 
of  pul)lic  worship,  the  tide  was  changing;  congregations  were 
growing,  and  eager  zeal  was  manifested  to  be  supplied  with 
Gospel  ministers.     Continual  appointments  were  made  by  the 


32  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Synods,  then  the  supreme  judicatories  of  the  Church,  for  preach- 
ing in  the  Carolinas;  and  in  several  instances,  New  Bern,  Wil- 
mington, and  Edenton  are  specially  designated  as  objective 
points  to  be  visited  and  cared  for.  Messrs.  C.  Spencer,  Lewis, 
Bay,  Caldwell,  C.  T.  Smith,  McWhorter,  Chestnut,  and  many 
others,  were  assigned  to  this  mission  from  year  to  year.* 

On  the  Eno,  a  branch  of  the  Neuse,  a  church  was  erected  in 
1736  on  ground,  the  deed  to  which  bears  date  9th  of  George 
II.  Out  of  Hanover  Presbytery,  which  was  constituted  in 
1758,  and  embraced  North  and  South  Carolina,  was  erected,  in 
1770,  Orange  Presbytery .  Its  seven  original  ministers  were 
Hugh  McAden,  Henry  Patillo,  James  Creswell,  David  Cald- 
well, Joseph  Alexander,  Hezekiah  Balch,  and  Hezekiali  James 
Balch.  Mr.  Patillo  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress 
of  North  Carolina  in  1775 ;  was  its  Chaplain,  and  also  the  hon- 
ored Chairman  of  the  body,  in  committee  of  the  whole,  in  con- 
sidering arrangements  for  confederation.  Mr.  Caldwell  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Convention  of  1776,  which  drew  up  the 
"  Bill  of  Eights,"  and  framed  the  constitution,  and  he  was  the 
reputed  author  of  the  Thirty-second  Article,  which  declares, 
"  That  no  person  who  shall  deny  the  being  of  God,  or  the  truth 
of  the  Protestant  religion,  or  the  divine  authority  of  either  the 
Old  or  New  Testament,  or  who  shall  hold  religious  principles 
incompatible  with  the  freedom  and  safety  of  the  State,  shall 
be  capable  of  holding  any  office,  or  place  of  trust  or  profit,  in 
the  civil  department  within  the  State." 

This  memorable  document  was  drawn  up  by  a  convention 
in  Charlotte,  N.  C.  Its  date,  according  to  the  best  authorities, 
is  20th  May,  1775.  The  town  of  Charlotte  was  pronounced 
by  Lord  Cornwallis  ^HhehorneCs  nest  of  North  Carolina^ 
Bancroft  says  it  was  "  the  centre  of  the  culture  of  that  part  of 

♦Gillies'  Hist.  Col.,  pp.  432,  506;  Records  of  Presbyterian  Church,  173, 
263;  Webster's  History  of  Presbyterian  Church,  209,  2-t.o,  574;  Hodge's 
Constitutional  History,  Vol.  ii.,  288;  Bancroft's  United  States  History,  ii., 
172,  181,  etc. 


HUGH  WILLIAMSON  AND  OTHERS.  33 

the  province."  Here  was  "  Queen's  Museum,"  the  most  cele- 
brated seminary  of  learning,  except  William  and  Mary,  south 
of  Princeton.  Its  able  president.  Rev.  Dr.  McWhorter,  and 
Dr.  E.  Brevard,  were  both  graduates  of  Princeton.  A  few 
days  before  the  Convention  met,  a  political  meeting  assem- 
bled in  this  Presbyterian  College,  and  entertained  some  re- 
solutions, presented  by  Dr.  Ephraim  Brevard.  These  were 
read  to  the  convention,  and  referred  to  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Dr.  Brevard,  Mr.  Kennon  and  Pev.  H.  J.  Balch,  for  revision; 
and  when  reported  were  adopted  by  a  universal  "aye,"  and 
constitute  the  immortal  "Mecklenburg  Declaration,"  of  which 
Bancroft  says,  "The  first  voice  publicly  raised  in  America  to 
dissolve  all  connection  with  Great  Britain,  came  from  the 
Scotch-Irish  Preshyteriansi!''  It  is  remarkable  that  this  famous 
convention  was  composed  of  one  Presbyterian  minister^  Mr. 
Balch^  nine  Presbyterian  ruling-elders^  and  other  persons  who 
were  all  somehow  connected  with  the  seven  Presbyterian 
congregations  in  Mecklenburg  County.  Another  memorable 
fact  is  that,  as  late  as  July,  1YT5,  a  petition  to  the  King  of 
Great  Britain  was  signed  by  every  member  of  Congress, 
praying  in  humble  terms,  as  British  subjects,  for  redress  of 
grievances,  and  declaring,  "We  have  not  raised  armies  with 
the  ambitious  design  of  separating  from  Great  Britain,  and  es- 
tablishing independent  States."  And  on  Nov.  16th,  1775,  the 
bearer  to  England  of  this  congressional  document,  Pichard 
Penn,  the  grandson  of  the  celebrated  William  Penn,  and  him- 
self an  ex-governor,  appeared  before  the  House  of  Lords,  and 
testified,  that  in  his  opinion  "no  design  of  independency  had 
been  formed  by  Congress."  All  lienor  to  North  Carolina  for 
the  pronounced  and  vigorous  spirit  of  liberty  that  had  long 
been  growing  witliin  her  borders,  and  had  its  congenial  home 
in  the  bosoms  of  her  sturdy  Calvinistic  settlers. 

HuQtt  iUUImmsou  aiiCi  (Olft<M'$* 

Dr.  Williamson  was  born  of  estimable,  pious  Scotch-Irish 
parents,  in  Pennsylvania,  December  6,  1735.  His  mother, 
Mary  Davison,  of  Derry,  wlien  a  girl  three  years  old,  with  her 


34  NORTH  CAKOLINA. 

parents  on  tlieir  voyage  to  America,  was  captured  by  the  !N  ortlr 
Carolina  pirate,  Blackbeard,  or  Teach.  After  being  phindered, 
they  were  released.  Hugh  was  taught  by  Rev.  Francis  Alison, 
a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  the  best  Latin  scholar  in  America ; 
graduated  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  became  a 
Licentiate  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Ill  health  prevented 
his  continuing  to  preach,  or  obtaining  ordination.  He  then 
studied  medicine  in  London,  Edinburgh  and  Utrecht,  and 
travelled  extensively  in  Europe.  It  has  been  claimed  that 
through  him  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  obtained  the  famous 
Hutchinson  correspondence,  whose  revelations  of  British  false 
dealings  precipitated  the  War  of  Independence.  On  hearing 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Dr.  Williamson  returned- 
home,  and  the  army  medical  staff  having  been  organized,  he 
awaited  an  opportunity  of  serving  his  country.  While  prac- 
tising medicine  in  Philadelphia,  he  served  as  a  ruling  elder  in 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  city. 

During  the  war,  when  on  a  mercantile  voyage  from  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  to  Baltimore,  his  vessel  had  to  run  up  to  Edenton, 
]^.  C,  to  escape  the  English  fleet  in  Chesapeake  Bay.  Dr. 
Williamson  promptly  offered  his  services  to  the  Governor  of 
this  State.  He  came  to  New  Bern  to  inoculate  for  the  small- 
pox such  persons  as  had  not  had  the  disease,  and  thus  laid  the 
foundation  of  that  confidence  soon  shown  him  in  North  Caro- 
lina. He  settled  in  Edenton.  Governor  Caswell,  being  as- 
signed as  Major-General  to  the  command  of  the  North  Caro- 
lina troops,  ordered  to  the  relief  of  Charleston,  appointed  Dr. 
Williamson  chief  of  his  medical  staff,  wdiere  he  rendered  essen- 
tial service.  In  the  State  Legislature  and  Congress  he  repre- 
sented his  district  with  distinction;  and  in  1787,  with  Richard 
Dobbs  Spaight  and  William  Blount,  signed  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States.  He  was  an  eminent  scholar  in  mathe- 
matics, astronomy,  natural  science,  medicine  and  divinity ;  ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Thomas  Jefferson,  "a  very  useful  member  of 
Congress,  of  acute  mind,  and  a  rich  degree  of  erudition;"  a 
man  of  fine  appearance,  imposing  elocution,  lofty  integrity, 
broad  philanthropy,  noble  patriotism,  and  untarnished  purity. 


PRESBYTERIAN  SETTLEMENTS.  35- 

Though  commencing  his  career  in  North  Carolina  as  an  entire 
stranger,  all  obstacles  to  his  advancement  speedily  melted  away. 
He  was  chosen  to  successive  places  of  honor,  trust  and  influ- 
ence, and  he  largely  moulded  public  opinion  and  State  policy. 
He  wrote  many  valuable,  practical,  literary  and  philosophical 
papers;  and  in  1S12,  published  in  two  volumes  his  History  of 
North  Carolina,  a  most  important  contemporary  contribution. 
On  May  23,  1S19,  in  the  eighty-fiftli  year  of  his  age,  while 
riding  out  with  his  niece  in  New  York  city,  in  the  full  vigor 
of  his  faculties,  and  crowned  with  worthy  honors,  he  suddenly 
expired. 

Samuel  Spencer,  one  of  the  three  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court ;  Alexander  Martin,  three  times  Governor  of  the  State,  and 
at  his  death  Senator  of  tlie  United  States  from  North  Caro- 
lina ;  Richard  Caswell,  Brigadier-General  of  New  Bern  District 
during  the  Revolution,  Major-General  of  the  North  Carolina 
State  Line,  the  first  Governor  of  the  State,  and  twice  called  to 
that  high  ofiice  by  an  admiring  people;  William  Richardson 
Davie,  the  distinguished  lawyer,  accomplished  orator,  member 
of  Congress,  and  Governor  of  his  State, — these  are  a  few 
specimens  of  the  kind  of  men  who  were  trained  in  the  bosom 
and  great  principles  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  tliose  early 
days,  and  were  thereby  fitted  to  wield  controlling  and  beneficent 
power  for  liberty  and  virtue  in  this  grand  Commonwealth. 

Of  course,  in  signalizing  these  few  illustrative  facts,  there  is 
no  intention  of  unduly  exalting  Presbyterian  influence,  and 
undervaluing  the  noble  patriots  and  men  of  illustrious  labors 
connected  with  other  Christian  bodies.  Thanks  are  due  to  God 
for  every  one.  But  it  is  neither  within  my  limits  or  scope  of 
thought  to  trace  out  their  histories  here.  It  will  be  well  if 
some  one  is  stimulated  so  to  do. 

presbyter  tan  Scttlcmotifs. 

These  results  were,  however,  the  natural  outgrowth  of  the 
scattered  early  Presbyterian  pioneers,  and  of  the  repeated  and 
large  colonies  of  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish,  and  other  Presbyte- 
rians that  poured  into  the  State  before  and  soon  after  1700. 


36  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Notice  some  of  theso  in  the  middle  and  Eastern  sections.  Al- 
ready the  testimony  of  Dr.  Hawks  has  been  mentioned  about 
their  presence,  high  character,  and  wholesome  settlement  in 
the  Albemarle  domain.  Before  1729,  they  were  settled  in 
numbers  in  Cumberland  County,  near  the  site  of  Fayetteville. 
The  time  of  their  advent  is  unknown,  Henry  McCulloh,  from 
the  North  of  Ireland,  (a  grand  uncle  of  Judge  James  Iredell,) 
was  secretary  of  the  province  of  North  Carolina,  and  had  been 
appointed  his  Majesty's  Surveyor-General,  Inspector  and  Comp- 
troller of  the  revenue  and  grants  of  land.  He  speculated 
largely  in  the  crown  lands  on  the  Clarendon  or  Cape  Fear, 
Pedee  and  Neuse  rivers,  and  was  vitally  interested  in  planting 
colonists  on  them,  thereby  to  reap  a  fortune.  The  transactions 
of  himself  and  son,  Henry  E.  McCulloh,  are  said  to  have  been 
very  "crooked,"  However,  about  1T36,  Henry  McCulloh  be- 
gan to  fulfil  the  stipulations  of  his  grant,  by  introducing  a 
colony  of  Irish  Presbyterians  from  Ulster  into  Bladen  and 
Duplin  counties,  near  us.  The  numbers  swelled  to  three 
or  four  hundred,  and  he  thus  secured  64,400  acres  of 
choice  land,  it  is  said,  without  paying  a  dollar.  McCulloh's 
large  fortune  was  reported  to  have  been  greatly  embarrassed 
by  furnishing  transportation  to  these  settlers.  The  descendants 
of  this  band  are  indicated  by  their  family  names  in  Duplin, 
New  Hanover  and  Sampson  counties.  This  is  the  oldest  Pres- 
byterian settlement  in  the  State,  and  their  principal  place  of 
■worship  was  "  Goshen,"  from  which  the  "Grove"  congregation, 
"whose  church  is  three  miles  southeast  of  Duplin  Courthouse, 
traces  its  origin.  Another  settlement,  near  Wilmington,  on 
the  northeast  of  Cape  Fear,  was  the  "  Welch  Tract,"  originally 
founded  by  Welch  emigrants.  Other  families  joined  them, 
-and  together  they  formed  anotlier  strong  Presbyterian  congre- 
gation,* 

The  year  1745  was  a  dark  era  to  Scotland,  The  bloody 
rout  of  Cnlloden  was  a  fatal  disaster,  not  only  to  all  hopes  of 
Charles  Edward,  but  to  Lovat  and  Kilmarnock,  Tullibardine 

*  Williamson,  ii.  62-65 ;  Foote,  78  and  159 ;  McRee's  Life  of  Iredell,  i.  7,  8, 


HIGHLANDERS.  37 

and  Balmerino,  MacDonald  of  Glengaiy,  and  Cameron  of  Lo- 
cliiel,  with  their  thousands  of  brave  but  misguided  clansmen. 
A  harsh  government,  satiated  with  unjust  trials,  barbarities 
and  bloody  executions,  exempted  nineteen  out  of  every  twenty 
from  trial  and  punishment — the  doomed  one  to  be  decided  by 
lot.  Upon  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance,  the  others  were  al- 
lowed to  be  transported  to  America.  The  "Coercion  Bill" 
and  "Disabling  Act"  were  added,  inflicting  severe  penalties  on 
Highlanders  wearing  the  national  kilt,  or  found  in  possession 
of  weapons  of  war.  So  the  Cape  Fear  co'imtry  became  the 
happy  Canaan  for  the  oppressed  of  Scotland.  Here  the  stern 
veterans  of  Preston-Pans,  the  stalwart  broad-swordsmen  of  Lo- 
chiel,  and  the  rugged  Highlanders  wlio  swept  over  Culloden's 
fatal  field  like  their  mountain  storms,  were  turned  into  quiet 
farmers,  isolated  by  their  uncouth  Gaelic  tongue,  among  the 
pines  and  the  plains  of  Eastern  Carolina,  but  in  a  land  of 
freedom.  Hector  McNeill,  Alexander  Clark,  and  others,  even 
"John  Smith,"  had  long  lived  here,  and  had  doubtless  sent 
home  encouraging  accounts  of  their  welfare.  In  1746  and 
1747  many  ship-loads  of  the  refugees  arrived  in  Wilmington. 
During  the  "rising"  in  Scotland,  Neill  McNeill,  a  native  of 
Argyleshire,  had  been  prospecting  in  America,  and  had  ex- 
plored the  Cape  Fear  section,  and  the  neighborhood  of  Cross 
Creek,  known  then  as  Heart's  Creek  or  the  Bluff,  afterwards 
Campbelton,  and  now  Fayetteville.  Tall  and  muscular,  bold 
and  daring,  he  entered  land  for  himself  and  colonists,  and  in 
1749  brought  over  about  three  hundred  immigrants,  who  were 
placed  in  Brunswick,  Bladen,  Cumberland  and  Harnett  Coun- 
ties. Baliol  of  Jura  (one  of  the  Hebrides  Islands)  ran  a  vessel 
yearly  between  Wilmington  and  Scotland,  and  regularly 
brought  in  additional  Scotch  immigrants.*  These  various 
colonists  were  reared  almost  within  hail  of  classic  lona,  the 
hallowed  home  of  primitive  Presbyterianism,  under  apostolic 
Columba,  his  coadjutors  and  godly  successors.  So  they  proved 
good  seed  from  a  worthy  stock. 

♦Hume's  Euglaod,  viii.  847,  etc.;  Foote,  12o-131,  1G9,  etc.;  Martin,  ii. 
46 ;  WilliamRon,  ii.  78 ;  Ceuteuarj'  Sermon,  by  Neill  McKay,  D.  D.  ;  and 
Historical  Address  by  J.  Banks,  Esq.,  at  Bluff  Church,  1858. 


38  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Ministers  Scarce* 

No  clergymen  were  with  these  Scotch.  This  seems  singu- 
lar, since  they  were  thorongh  Presljyterians,  and  so  well 
versed  in  their  Bibles  and  the  doctrines  and  usages  of  the 
Church,  that  a  minister  needed  to  be  very  careful  in  preaching  to 
avoid  their  criticism.  Rev.  J.  McLeod  said  "  he  would  rather 
preacli  to  the  most  polished  and  fashionable  congregation  in 
Edinburgh  than  to  the  little  critical  carls  of  Barbecue."  But 
the  manner  of  the  forced  exile,  and  the  actual  lack  of  preachers 
in  the  Highands,  explain  the  anomaly.  Few  could  preach  in  the 
Gaelic  language ;  and  these  people  spoke  notliing  else.  When 
Kev.  Hugh  McAden  was  on  his  missionary  tour  in  North  and 
South  Carolina  in  1756,  lie  states  in  his  journal,  that  at  Hector 
McNeill's  he  "  preached  to  a  number  of  Highlanders, — some  of 
them  scarcely  knew  one  word  that  I  said, — the  poorest  singers 
I  ever  heard  in  all  my  life."  Neither  did  he  find  them  all 
godly.  Their  spii'itual  destitution  so  affected  him  that,  on  his 
return  to  Pennsylvania,  he  induced  Rev.  James  Camph'ell  to  go 
and  reside  amongst  them.  Mr.  Campbell  was  born  in  Cam- 
belton,  on  the  peninsula  of  Kintyre,  Argyleshire,  Scotland. 
About  1730,  he  was  a  licensed  Presbyterian  preacher,  and 
landed  in  Philadelphia.  He  took  charge  of  a  congregation  of 
Scotch  emigrants,  perliaps  in  Lancaster  County,  Penn.,  where 
Mr.  McAden  visited  him,  and  was  duly  ordained.  Yielding  to 
the  claims  from  Carolina,  he  removed  thither  in  1757,  bought 
a  plantation  on  the  Cape  Fear,  opposite  the  Bluff  Church,  and 
a  few  miles  from  Fayetteville,  and  began  to  preach  under  the 
shadow  of  his  own  oaks,  in  the  Gaelic  language,  in  a  most  un- 
promising field.  But  the  glad  tidings  spread.  Great  enthusi- 
asm was  kindled  throughout  the  Scotch  settlement.  He  pro- 
claimed a  crucified  Saviour  for  the  lost  sinner  with  blessed  re- 
sults; served  several  churches,  and  secured  the  erection  of 
several  "  meeting-houses " ;  and  ceased  not  his  faithful  labors, 
which  knew  no  bounds  but  his  strength,  until,  under  the  weight 
of  more  than  three  score  and  ten  years,  he  fell  on  sleep  in  Je- 
sus, and  was  laid  beside  his  dear  wife,  in  the  quiet  of  his  own 
graveyard. 


THE  CALL.  39 

The  call  for  Mr.  Campbell's  services  is  in  the  shape  of  a  con- 
tract (for  there  was  no  organized  church  yet),  and  appears  in 
the  Register's  office,  (Book  A,  page  349,)  of  the  County  Court 
of  Cumberland.  As  the  lirst  recorded  formal  call  for  the  pas- 
toral services  of  a  Presbyterian  minister  in  North  Carolina,  and 
in  view  of  the  light  it  throw.s  on  the  times  hv  its  accompani- 
ments, it  will  be  well  to  copy  it: 

"  Know  all  men  whom  these  presents  do,  or  may  concern. 
That  we,  whose  names  ai-c  underwritten,  for  and  in  considera- 
tion of  the  due  and  faitliful  ministry  of  the  Gospel  (according 
to  the  Doctrines  and  Discipline  of  the  Church  of  that  part  of 
Great  Britain  called  Scotland,  by  law  established,)  for  some 
months  past,  and  hereafter  to  be  administered  to  us  and  other 
good  people  of  our  communion  in  the  county  of  Cumberland, 
in  the  Province  of  North  America,  by  the  Kev.  Mr.  James 
Campbell,  a  well  qualified  minister  of  the  principles  of  the  said 
established  church,  and  for  divers  good  causes  and  considera- 
tions moving  us  thereto,  have  covenanted,  promised,  granted 
and  agreed,  and  by  these  presents  do  each  of  us  covenant, 
promise  and  agree  to  and  witli  the  said  Mr.  James  Campbell 
to  pay  conjointly,  or  cause  to  be  paid  the-  sum  of  a  hundred 
pounds  in  good  and  lawful  money  of  North  Carolina  to  the 
said  Mr.  James  Campbell,  his  heirs,  executors,  administrators, 
or  assigns,  to  connnence  from  the  twenty-second  day  of  June 
last,  (providing  the  said  Mr.  James  Campbell  doth,  as  soon  as 
his  convenience  permit,  accept  of  our  call,  to  be  presented  to 
him  by  Kev'd  Presbytery  of  South  Carolina,  and  be  by  them 
engaged  to  the  solemn  duty  of  a  pastor  for  us,)  and  this  to  be 
paid  to  him,  liis  heirs,  executors,  administrators,  or  assigns 
yearly,  and  every  year  during  his  faithful  ministry  with  us. 
In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals, 
this  eighteentli  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  His  Majesty's 
reign  XXXIInd  and  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  tifty-eight. 


40  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

"  Signed,  sealed  and  delivered  in  presence  of  Arch'd  Mc- 
Neill and  Arch'd  D.  Clark. 

"  Signed,  sealed  and  delivered 
before  us. 

"  Archibald  Mc!N"eill, 

"Archibald  Clark, 

"  Hector  McNeill,  [Seal.] 

"Gilbert  Clark,  [Seal.] 

"Thomas  Gibson,  [Seal.] 

"Alex.  McAlister,  [Seal.] 

"Malcom  Smith,  [Seal.] 

"Archibald  McKay,  [Seal.] 

"  Jno.  Patterson,  [Seal.] 

"DusheeShaw,  [Seal.] 

"  Neill  McNeill,  [Seal.] 

"Archibald  Buie,  [Seal.] 

"Anguish  Culbreath,  [Seal.] 

"  John  McPherson,"  [Seal.] 

Endorsements  show  that  this  bond  was  proved  by  oath  of  A, 
McNeill  in  open  court  and  admitted  to  record,  August  Inferior 
Court,  1760.  A  duplicate  was  afterwards  executed  and  proven^ 
with  some  change  of  signatures. 

But  now  Episcopacy  and  Koyalty,  in  the  persons  representing^ 
the  king,  enforce  the  subscription  and  test  acts,  as  the  follow- 
ing entries  on  the  Minutes  of  the  court,  January  term,  1759,. 
show : 

"  The  Rev.  James  Campbell  came  into  open  court,  and  took 
the  test-oath  prescribed  by  law,  and  subscribed  the  test." 

"  Court  adjourned  till  3  o'clock.  Court  met  according  to 
adjournment.  Present:  William  Dawson,  Samuel  Howard, 
Arthur  Donnally  and  James  Thornton,  Justices." 

"  The  Rev.  James  Campbell  in  open  court  read  and  subscribed 
such  of  the  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England  as  the  law  re- 
quiries."  * 

*  Centenary  Addresses,  mentioned  before. 


REV.   HUGH  MCADEN.  4:1 

Tlic  test-oath  was  this:  "I — (A.  B.) — do  declare  tliat  I  do 
believe  that  there  is  not  any  transuhstantiation  in  the  saciranient 
of  the  Lord's  Snpper,  or  in  the  elements  of  bread  and  wine  at 
or  after  the  consecration  thereof  by  any  person  wliatsoever/' 

The  act  of  toleration  permitted  the  following;  of  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles  to  be  excepted  to — a  part  of  the  20th,  about  de- 
creeing rites,  etc.;  the  27th,  on  baptism;  the  34th  to  36th,  of 
traditions,  homilies,  and  consecration  of  clergy,  t 

All  this  squints  wonderfully  towards  an  established  Church. 

Mr.  Campbell  preached  in  both  Gaelic  and  English  every 
Sabbath,  and  this  practice  prevailed  in  a  few  congregations 
down  to  a  few  years  before  our  late  war.  His  connection  was 
with  an  independent  Presbytery  in  South  Carolina,  where  Pres- 
byterian churches  had  been  organized  as  early  as  1682  and  1686. 
About  1773  he  united  with  Orange  Presbytery.  lie  was  an 
ardent  and  outspoken  patriot,  though  the  Highlanders,  under 
a  sense  of  the  binding  obligation  of  their  oaths,  fought  against 
the  colonies  in  the  disastrous  battle  of  Moore's  Creek.  Mr. 
Campbell  was  threatened  with  a  bullet  through  his  head,  unless 
he  kept  quiet.  He  even  refused  to  baptize  the  children  of 
royalists ! 

Already  spoken  of,  was  of  Irish  parentage,  through  born  in 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  graduated  at  Nassau  Ilall  in  1753; 
licensed  in  1755,  and  ordained  in  1757,  by  New  Castle  Presby- 
tery, and  dismissed  in  1759  to  Hanover  Presl)ytery,  which 
swept  indefinitely  southward  from  Virginia.  His  journal  indi- 
cates that,  in  1755,  the  uneasy  year  of  Braddock's  defeat,  he 
made  a  missionary  tour  over  Korth  and  South  Carolina,  partly 
in  company  with  Rev.  Andrew  Bay,  who  had  been  commis- 
sioned for  a  preaching  service  in  Carolina  by  the  Synod  of  Phil- 
adelphia and  New  York,  and  was  several  times  ordered  to  visit 
JYeio  Jjern.  Mr.  McAden  (or  "McCadden")  preached  on  the 
Neuse,  Contentenay,  Pamlico,  and  Tar  rivers,  and  in  Edgecoml)e 
County  sometimes  in  Presbyterian  churches,  and  sometimes  in 

+  Neil's  Puritans,  Vol.  II.  345,  483  ;  gchaff's  Creeds,  I.  619— Burnet:  Mac- 
aulay. 

3 


42  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

Baptist,  to  mixed  congregations  of  Presbyterians,  Churchmen, 
Baptists,  and  Quakers — good  and  honest  Quakers — as  he  terms 
them.  Tlie  Baptists  were  very  kind  and  liberal.  Great  reli- 
gious destitution  prevailed  everywhere.  One  Sabbath,  Aj)ril 
4,  1756,  he  remained  at  Mr.  Thomas  Little's,  near  Salter's 
Ferry,  Pamlico.  He  had  not  heard  a  Presbyterian  minister  in 
tlie  twenty-eight  years  he  had  lived  in  Carolina;  so  he  kept  Mr. 
McAden  until  Wednesday,  and  gathered  the  neighbors  to  hear 
another  sermon.  Presbyterians  were  scattered  through  tliis 
section,  but  there  were  no  organized  churches. 

At  Mr.  Dickson's,  the  Clerk  of  Duplin  County,  he  preached 
to  a  considerable  congregation,  chiefly  Irish.  These  people 
made  out  a  hearty  call  for  his  pastoral  services,  as  did  also 
"the  Welch  Tract,"  before  mentioned,  and  promised  him  a 
proper  support.  This  call  antedated  that  of  Mr.  Campbell, 
given  as  the  first,  because  we  have  it  in  its  entirety.  In  1759, 
Mr.  McAden  returned  and  settled  amid  the  Pres])yterians  of 
Duplin  and  New  Hanover,  and  on  the  ISTeuse.  Here  he  labored 
for  ten  years,  respected  and  beloved  by  all.  He  was  a  man  of 
thoughtful  face,  in  the  prime  of  life,  polite,  and  of  easy  manners. 
Doubtless  he  sometimes  visited  and  preached  in  'New  Bern,  the 
neighboring  city  and  seaport  of  the  section.  Ill  health  caused 
him  to  remove  to  Caswell  County,  where  he  died,  on  January 
20,  1781,  and  was  buried  in  the  grave-yard  of  Red  House 
Church,  near  Milton.  McAden  and  Campbell  were  the  noble 
and  blessed  patriarchs  of  Presbyterianism.  in  Eastern  Carolina 
and  in  other  portions  of  the  State.  Let  their  manes  be  held  in 
continued  honor. 

Hobinson  nn5  Stanford. 

After  some  years  of  precarious  ministei-ial  supply,  these 
congregations,  in  1793,  secured  the  services  of  Bev.  John 
Bobinson,  who  remained  witli  them  to  their  edification  until 
1800,  when  he  removed  to  Fayette  ville.  Be  v.  Samuel  Stan- 
ford, of  Orange  Presbytery,  succeeded  him,  and  conducted  a 
classical  academy  at  the  Grove.  This  school,  or  one  near  their 
homes,  was  maintained  for  many  years  by  succeeding  pastors 


CLASSICAL  SCHOOLS.  43 

with  great  advantage  to  the  citizens.  Mr.  Stanford  wore  out 
his  strength  and  days  in  serving  the  people  of  Duplin,  and 
passed  to  his  reward  in  1828.  lie  was  officially  in  New  Bern, 
as  will  hereafter  appear,  at  an  ordination  and  installation  in 
1808.  The  annual  introduction  from  1754  of  hardy,  intelli- 
gent and  industrious  Scotch  gave  enlarging  and  stimulating 
work  to  faithful  pastors  in  these  fields.  In  the  single  year, 
1764,  a  thousand  families  of  Irish  or  Scotch-Irish  Presbyte- 
rians jyassed  through  the  Nortliern  colonies  to  this  State.  La- 
borers for  the  harvest,  by  divine  blessing,  increased  too,  so  that 
before,  and  just  after,  1800,  the  following  clergymen  were 
reaping  the  ripened  sheaves :  John  McLeod,  Dougal  Crawford, 
William  Bingham,  John  Robinson,  James  and  llobert  Tate, 

W.  D.  Paisley,  John  Anderson, McCaasa,  Colin  Lindsay, 

Samuel  Stanford,  Angus  McDiarmid,  John  Gillespie,  Murdock 
Murphy,  Allan  McDugald,  James  K.  Burch,  David  Kerr,  An- 
drew Flinn,  William  Leftwich  Turner,  Malcolm  McXair,  and 
William  Peacock.  A  goodly  company  this  of  soldiers  of  the 
cross,  with  a  cheering  band  of  candidates  pursuing  their  studies 
preparatory  for  the  Master's  great  work  of  saving  souls.* 

Cfa$stcn(  Scfiools. 

The  Lords  Proprietors  discounted  printing-presses  and  learn- 
ing. In  an  interesting  address  delivered  at  Chapel  Hill,  in 
1S27,  by  Hon.  Archibald  D.  Murphy,  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Xorth  Carolina,  he  says  there  were  few  books  in  the  colony. 
The  library  of  a  connnon  man  consisted  of  a  Bible  and  a  spell- 
ing book.  The  laivyers  had  a  few  law  books,  and  the  minis- 
ters a  few  on  theology,  and  sometimes  a  few  Greek  and  Roman 
classics;  for  they,  particularly  the  Presbyterian  ministers,  were 
generally  the  school-masters,  and  with  them  the  poor  young 
men  who  wished  to  preach  the  Gospel  or  plead  the  law,  re- 
ceived their  humble  education.  Even  after  the  Revolution, 
when  he  was  a  student  at  Dr.  Caldwell's  famous  classical  school, 
he  says,  "  The  students  had  no  books  on  history  or  miscella- 
neous literature.  ...  I  well  remember,  that  after  completing 

♦  Foot's  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,  80,  131,  170,  301,  490,  r.Ol,  Ac 


44:  NOKTH  CAROLINA, 

my  course  of  studies  under  Dr.  Caldwell,  I  spent  nearly  two 
years  without  finding  any  books  to  read,  except  some  old  works 
on  tlieological  subjects.  At  length  I  accidentally  met  with 
Voltaire's  History  of  Charles  the  Twelfth  of  Sweden,  an  odd 
volume  of  Smollett's  Roderic  Random,  and  an  Abridgment  of 
Don  Quixote.  These  books  gave  me  a  taste  for  reading,  which 
I  had  no  opportunity  of  gratifying  until  I  became  a  student 
in  this  University,"  in  the  year  1796.  Few  of  Dr.  Cakhvell's 
students  had  better  opportunities  of  getting  books  than  my- 
self." A  few  libraries  of  value  had  been  sent  into  the  colony  j 
e.  g..,  that  at  Batli,  worth  £100;  and  those  of  Rev.  Messrs. 
Gordon,  Adams  and  Urmstone,  and  the  one  bought  by  Mr. 
Moseley.     But  they  were  all  lost,  and  did  little  good. 

A  few  roving  teachers,  with  a  monopoly  of  learning  and 
love  of  whiskey,  wandered  about.  Three  months  constituted 
a  term,  and  two  terms  completed  one's  education.  There  was 
an  occasional  pedagogue  of  this  class  in  Craven  County.  About 
the  close  of  the  Revolution,  a  noted  Scotchman  taught  in  this 
county.  His  name  was  James  Alexander  Campbell  Hunter 
Peter  Douglas.  He  would  flog  a  whole  class  because  they 
spelt  "corn"  as  he  pronounced  it,  "kor-run."  Histoiy  fails 
to  tell  whether  he  flogged  them  for  not  remembering  his 
name. 

In  the  North  Carolina  Gazette  of  July  24,  1778,  I  find 
this 

"  ADVEETISEMENT. 

"Mr,  Joseph  Blyth  has  opened  school  iu  the  public  schoolhouse,  and 
will  teach  Latin,  English,  Arithmetic,  Geography,  Geometry,  Trigonome- 
try, and  several  other  of  the  most  useful  branches  of  the  Mathematics, 
according  to  the  best  and  most  approved  methods.  Gentlemen  and  ladies 
■who  favor  him  with  theu'  children  may  depend  he  will  be  diligent,  and 
pay  proper  attention  to  their  education, 

"New  Bern,  Jaly  24." 

In  the  same  paper  is  an  advertisement  of  Mr,  George  Har- 
rison's school,  opposite  Mrs.  Dewey's,  for  instruction  in  the 
English  and  French  languages. 

Judge  Martin  is  mistaken  in  saying  that  when  the  Revolu- 


CLASSICAL  SCHOOLS.  45 

tionary  War  began  there  were  but  two  schools  in  Korth  Caro- 
lina.    Others  have  fallen  into  similar  errors. 

Great  attention  was  paid  to  establish ini^  schools  in  Presby- 
terian settlements.  It  was  esteemed  a  mark  of  vulgarity  not  to 
be  able  to  repeat  the  Shorter  Catechism.  So  diligent  efforts 
were  made  to  teach  all  chiklren  to  read,  and  few  grew  up 
unal)le  to  do  so.  Rev.  James  Tate,  a  Presbyterian  minister 
fj'om  Ireland,  opened  a  classical  school  in  Wilmington  in  1760. 
In  17S5,  Rev.  William  Bingham,  also  from  Ireland,  preached 
in  Wilmington  and  thereabouts,  and  sustained  himself  by  a 
classical  school,  whicli  attained  great  rclat,  was  afterwards 
maintained  elsewhere,  is  now  owned  and  conducted  by  his 
grandson,  near  Mebaneville,  jST.  C,  and  is  perhaps  the  largest, 
most  successful  and  most  celebrated  classical  and  military  in- 
stitute in  the  South.  Such  schools  were  numerous,  notwith- 
standing some  different  statements  by  persons  not  fully  in- 
fer Qied,  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  under  the  management 
of  Presbyterian  clergymen.  Rev,  Dr.  Caldwell,  in  Guildford, 
educated  lawyers,  statesmen  and  clergymen.  Five  of  his  pupils 
became  governors  of  States,  a  number  rose  to  the  bench,  many 
were  physicians,  and  fifty  became  preachers.  It  used  to  be 
said  that  Dr.  Caldwell  made  the  scholar,  and  Mrs.  Caldwell, 
by  her  motherly  zeal  and  piety,  made  the  preacher.  Dr.  Hall, 
from  "Zion  Parnassus,"  sent  forty-five  students  to  the  pulpit. 
There  wei-e  Hall's  famous  "Clio's  Nursery,"  and  his  "Academy 
of  Sciences,"  with  its  philosophical  apparatus;  Patillo's  classi- 
cal school  in  Granville;  the  celebrated  "Crowfield"  Institute; 
^'  the  Grove  "  in  Duplin,  and  the  Wilmington  schools.  Nor 
must  the  memorable  "  Queen's  Museum,"  in  Sugaw  (Sugar) 
Creek  congregation  be  forgotten.  Established  probably  in 
1766,  it  was  twice  chartered  by  the  Colonial  Legislature,  but 
each  time  the  charter  was  revoked  by  the  king  and  council,  and 
tlie  second  time  hy  proclamation.  It  flourished,  however,  with- 
out a  charter,  refused  hecnnse  these  Presbyterians  would  not 
put  a  tneniher  of  the  established  Church  of  England  as  master 
of  their  own  school.  Tliis  was  the  explicit  proviso  made  in  the 
charter  of  the  New  Bern  Academy,  and  accepted.     The  king's 


46  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

fears  that  the  college  would  become  the  fountain  of  Republi- 
canism were  perhaps  quickened  into  reality  by  his  repeated  re- 
jection of  the  charter,  for  Queen's  Museum  became  the  rally- 
ing point  for  literary  societies  and  political  clubs,  preceding 
the  Revolution ;  and  in  its  hall  were  held  the  significant  and 
decisive  debates  preceding  the  adoption  of  the  Mecklenburg 
Declaration.  But  1777  brought  the  coveted  charter  to  this 
seminary  as  '•''  Liherty  HaliP  All  these  institutions  did  inesti- 
mable service  in  their  day.  The  historian  of  these  immortal 
epochs  and  toils  tells  how  deeply  Presbyterian  women  were 
concerned  to  secure  an  education  for  their  sons,  as  illustrated 
by  the  exclamation  of  Mrs.  Skillington.  Looking  upon  the 
shell  of  the  old  family  log-house,  within  rifle-shot  of  Poplar 
Tent  Presbyterian  meeting-house,  she  said,  "Many  a  day  have 
I  worked  for  Charley  with  these  hands,  when  we  lived  there, 
to  help  him  through  college ;  and  I  don't  mind  the  work,  for 
we  all  loved  Charley."  * 

Wherever  a  pastor  was  located,  the  custom  was  to  have  a 
classical  school.  Patillo  and  Hall  wrote  text  books,  for  there 
were  few  then  attainable.  Only  two  schools  were  incoiyorated  he- 
fore  Queeri's  College^  viz.  New  Bern  and  Edenton.  Royal  provi- 
sion had  been  made  to  give  a  salary  of  twenty  pounds  to  any 
who  would  come  to  tlie  colony  as  lay-reader  and  teach  school; 
and  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  before  1759,  according  to 
Judge  Martin,  to  raise  a  fund  for  common  schools.  Still  schools 
were  scarce.  Little  favor  seems  to  have  been  bestowed  on  edu- 
cational work,  until  the  light  of  Geneva  and  the  Culdee  prin- 
ciples of  Lindisfarne  and  lona  beneficently  shone  in  North 
Carolina.  Thus  the  classic  muses  and  winsome  graces  were 
brought  into  chastened  fellowship  with  clear-eyed  Christian 
virtues,  and  the  State  was  lifted  to  elevated  heights  of  refine- 
ment, comfort,  progress  and  piety.  These  vital  forces  gave 
power  to  those  wielding  them,  and  their  benign  reign  still 
blesses  the  good  old  North  State.  This  grand  educational 
movement  may  be  said  to  have  its  crown  of  honor  in  those 
times,  in  the  establishnent  of  "the  University  of  North  Caro- 

*  Foote's  Sketches,  Chaps,  35  and  36. 


OLD  PRINCETON  COLLEGE. 


4T 


lina" — opened  for  students  in  1795, — and  its  thorough  organ- 
ization by  that  noble  educator  and  Presbyterian  divine,  by  uni- 
versal consent,  ilia  father  of  this  useful  and  famed  institution, 
— the  Right  Reverend  Joseph  Caldwell,,  D.  D.  For  forty  years 
this  illustrious  scion  from  Huguenot  stock  presided  over  its 
destinies,  and  was  its  inspiring  genius,  successfully  combating 
the  serried  assaults  of  infidelity,  and  leading  the  institution  in 
a  career  of  healthy  and  increasing  prosperity,  with  great  honor 
to  himself,  and  incalculable  advantage  to  the  Commonwealth. 
It  is  an  interesting  fact,  too,  that  the  ladies  of  New  Bern  and 
Raleigh  presented  the  University  with  mathematical  instru- 
ments, and  promised  that  its  welfare  should  ever  enlist  their 
hearts  and  hands. 

COId  JJriuccfott  CfHoIIcgo* 

It  is  appropriate  to  insert  here  a  picture  of  Old  Nassau  Hall, 
Princeton,  N.  J.,  where  so  many  laborers  in  Eastern  Carolina 
and  the  New  Pern  Church  were  educated.  This  historic  Hall 
has  been  modernized,  and  now  forms  the  centre  of  the  magni- 
ficent buildings  of  this  great  University. 


-^..  -\^  I 


STTini  ^^^Jn|!-^'lI  P:M-3-  '  '^-^  ^  "  ^-  '-  ^-  -:? 


OLD      PllINCETON      COLLEGE. 


NEW  BERN. 


THIS  preliminary  survey  brings  us  to  the  presentation  of 
such  particulars  as  are  accessible  about  the  settlement  and 
history  of  this  city,  and  the  beginning  and  progress  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  herein. 

^i\i^  Huguenots. 

Wonderfully  and  intimately  are  French  Huguenots  inter- 
woven in  the  beginnings  of  our  national  history.  The  first 
Protestant  settlement  in  the  United  States — nay,  on  the  North 
American  continent, — was  that  made  by  Jean  Ribeaut  (sent 
out  by  Admiral  Coligni)  in  Carolina,  in  3  562.  Disembarking, 
they  first  worshipj^ed  God ;  then  set  up,  not  superstitiously 
a  Papal  cross,  but  a  stone  pillar,  inscribed  with  national  lilies, 
and  named  the  territory  Carolina,  after  their  king.*  So  when, 
in  later  years,  their  brethren  settled  at  New  Paltz,  N.  Y.,  after 
unhitching  their  teams,  their  first  act  was  to  read  the  forty- 
sixth  Psalm,  and  then  on  bended  knees  in  faith  and  prayer, 
to  consecrate  themselves  and  their  posterity,  and  their  wilder- 
ness home,  to  their  covenant  God.  The  first  child,  Jean 
Yigne,  born  in  New  York  City,  and  the  first,  Sarah  Papelyea, 
born  in  Albany,  were  Huguenot  children.  I^riscilla,  the  his- 
toric Puritan  maiden,  who  came  over  in  the  Mayfloicer  in 
1620,  and  abides  with  immortal  beauty  and  renown,  with 
Miles  Standish  and  John  Alden,  in  the  radiance  of  Longfel- 
low's poetic  genius,  was  Priscilla  Molines,  daughter  of  William 
Molines,  the  Huguenot.  The  first  church  organized  on  Man- 
hattan Island  was  the  Reformed  Dutch,  composed  of  Hugue- 
not refugees  and  Dutch,  in  1627.     The  Dutch  Church  was 

*  Bancroft's  U.  S.  History,  Vol.  I.  page  62. 


THE  HUGUENOTS.  49 

modeled  on  that  of  France,  and  both  were  Presbyterian  ;  and  the 
Hngnenot  Governor,  Minuit,  was  one  of  its  two  ruling  elders. 
The  first  Presbyterian  preacher  and  the  first  Preshyterian  con- 
gregation in  North  Carolina^  were  Richebourg  and  his  colony 
— the  first  body  of  settlers  on  the  Trent.  The  first  church  or- 
ganized in  the  Carolinas  was  the  old  Hngnenot  Church, 
founded  in  Charleston  in  1G81-S2.  This  noble  stock  was 
among  the  first  settlers  in  South  Carolina,  and  we  will  trace 
them  at  an  early  day  in  our  State. 

One-fourth  of  the  invading  army  of  William  of  Orange, 
when  he  entered  England  in  1688,  were  Huguenots,  and  his 
veteran  commander-in-chief  w'as  the  Huguenot,  Frederick  Ar- 
maud  de  Schomberg.  Moved  by  gratitude  and  sympathy, 
King  William  favored  their  settlement  in  his  new  dominions 
in  America.  Large  numbers  came  to  Yirginia,  and  an  exten- 
sive colony  entered  upon  ten  thousand  acres  of  land,  twenty 
miles  above  Richmond,  on  the  James  River,  wliere  the  extinct 
Manakin  Indians  had  lived.  From  this  colony,  in  1690,  a 
body  emigrated  to  the  Pamlico  River,  near  Bath,  and  spread 
out  thence  as  far  as  the  Neuse  River.  The  whole  population 
of  North  Carolina  was  then  5,000.  About  1707,  another  nu- 
merous band  of  these  Calvinistic  Huguenots  from  Manakin  (or 
Manikin)  town  settled  on  the  Trent  River,  where  the  old 
county  bridge  stood,  two  miles  above  the  site  of  Xew  Bern ; 
and  they  spread  through  Onslow,  Jones  and  Carteret,  where 
French  names  still  perpetuate  this  advent.  Lawson  writes 
thus:  "Most  of  the  French  who  lived  at  Manakin  town  on 
James  River  are  removed  to  Trent  River,  in  North  Carolina, 
where  the  rest  were  expected  daily  to  come  to  them  when  I 
came  away,  which  was  in  August,  1708.  They  are  nnich 
taken  with  the  pleasantness  of  that  country,  and,  indeed,  are  a 
very  industrious  people.  At  present  they  make  very  good  linen 
cloth  and  thread,  and  are  very  well  versed  in  cultivating  hemp 
and  flax,  of  both  which  they  raise  very  considerable  quantities, 
and  design  to  try  an  essay  of  the  grape  for  making  of  wine." 
Williamson  says  of  this  colony,  "They  were  sober,  frugal,  in- 
dustrious planters,  and  in  a  short  time  became  independent  citi- 


50  NEW  BEEN. 

zens,"  Carroll's  Hist.  Collections  (Vol.  I.  101)  says  that 
Governor  Lndwell  had  instructions  in  1692  "to  allow  the 
Trench  colony  of  Craven  County  the  same  privileges  and 
liberties  with  the  English  colonists.''  Jealousies  existed  be- 
tween the  French  and  English,  so  that  the  French  were  re- 
fused representation  in  the  Legislature.  It  was  so  under 
Governor  Archdale  in  1695. 

In  his  History  of  Virginia,  John  Esten  Cooke  says  (p.  309), 
after  noting  how  near  Oliver  Cromwell,  Queen  Henrietta 
Maria,  and  Charles  II.,  were  to  becoming  residents  in  Virginia: 
"  What  was  better  for  the  country  was  the  arrival  in  1699  of 
the  good  Claude  Philippe  de  Richebourg  with  his  colony  of 
Huguenots,  who  settled  at  Manakin,  on  the  upper  James 
River,  and  infused  a  stream  of  pure  and  rich  blood  into  Vir- 
ginia society."  Not  entirely  satisfied  with  their  situation,  a 
part  of  this  colony,  led  by  their  noble,  godly,  exiled  pastor,- 
Richebourg,  migrated  to  the  Trent  River.  Richebourg  was  a 
decided  French  Presbyterian,  of  unobtrusive  manners,  fervid 
piety,  exalted  character,  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 
His  life  was  filled  with  toils,  poverty,  hope,  faith  and  charity, 
and  his  example  of  suffering  patience  encouraged  his  refugee 
banished  countrj'men  bravely  to  bear  their  multipled  hard- 
ships. Unsettled  by  the  horrid  Tuscarora  massacre  of  1711, 
he  and  some  others  of  the  Trent  colony  inoved  southward  to 
South  Carolina,  and  settled  on  the  Santee  River.  For  two  or 
three  years  he  seems  to  have  been  without  charge,  and  in 
straitened  circumstances.  He  then  succeeded  the  aged  Rev. 
Pierre  Robert,  as  pastor  of  the  Huguenot  Church  on  the  San- 
tee River.  Although  this  church  had  conformed  to  the  "Es- 
tablished Church,"  Mr.  Richebourg  never  accepted  Episcopal 
ordination.  Though  the  charters  of  Charles  11.  from  policy 
granted  liberty  of  conscience,  great  pressure  was  brought  to 
bear  on  French  Protestants  and  others,  to  bring  them  into  con- 

*Foote's  Tluguenots,  pp.  526-534;  Howe's  Presbyterian  Church  in  South 
Carolina;  Kev.  C.  S.  Vedder,  D.  D.,  Huguenots  of  South  Carolina,  etc. 


CLAUDE  PHILIPPE  DE  RICHEBOURG.  51 

formity  with  the  Church  of  England.  Subjected  to  many  an- 
noyances and  disabilities;  denied  membership  in  the  Legisla- 
ture; the  organization  of  their  Clmrch  and  ministry,  the  legal- 
ity of  their  marriages,  and  the  legitimacy  of  their  children  im- 
pugned, while  they  were  too  poor  to  sustain  their  own  ordi- 
nances with  regularity,  but  were  offered  sujiport  for  loth 
ChxircJi  and  minister  hy  the  Government;  some  of  these  congre- 
gations slowly  yielded  their  cherished  convictions.  Many, 
however,  stood  firm,  and  conquered  at  last. 

De  liichebourg  died,  serving  the  Santee  Church,  about  1717. 
His  will  breathes  the  spirit  of  true  Christianity,  and  exhibits 
this  faithful  servant  of  the  cross  still  resigned  to  the  dispensa- 
tions of  Providence,  steadfast  in  the  faith,  and  triumphant  at 
approaching  death.  This  will  was  long  preserved  in  Charles- 
ton, S.  C.  Recently  I  searched  for  it  in  the  Probate-Judge's 
office  in  that  city.  The  general  index  recorded  its  existence 
and  location ;  but  alas !  with  many  other  priceless  treasures,  re- 
moved inland  for  safety,  the  unbound  package  containing  it  had 
been  consumed  in  the  great  fire,  kindled  by  General  Sherman 
in  fated  Columbia. 

Surveyor-General  Lawson*  testifies  thus  about  these  Fi-ench 
Protestants:  "They  live  as  decently  and  happily  as  any  plan- 
ters in  these  southward  parts  of  America.  The  French  being 
a  temperate,  industrious  people;  some  of  them  bringing  very 
little  of  effects,  yet,  by  their  endeavors  and  mutual  assistance 
amongst  themselves — (which  is  highly  to  be  commended) — have 
outstripped  our  English,  who  brouglit  with  them  larger  for- 
tunes, though  (as  it  seems)  less  endeavor  to  manage  their  talent 
to  the  best  advantage.  'Tis  admirable  to  see  what  time  and 
industry  will,  with  God's  blessing,  effect."  An  effort  was 
made  to  introduce  silk-culture,  and  eggs  wei'e  shipped  to  Caro- 
lina; but  they  hatched  during  the  voyage,  and,  there  being  no 
food  for  their  support  on  board  the  ship,  they  all  died.  "Mon- 
sieur Philip  de  Pixbourg,"  says  Lawson,  "  assured  me,  that 
their  intent  was  to  propagate  vines,  as  far  as  their  present  cir- 
cumstances would  permit." 

♦Lawson's  Hist.  N.  C,  pp.  28-30,  141,  187. 


52  NEW  BERN, 

"With  regard  to  their  religion  he  remarks,  "  They  are  all  of 
the  same  opinion  with  the  Church  of  Geneva,  there  being  no 
difference  among  them  concerning  the  punctilios  of  their  Chris- 
tian faith;  which  union  hath  propagated  a  happy  and  delight- 
ful concord  in  all  other  matters  throughout  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood, living  amongst  themselves  as  one  tribe  or  kindred,  every 
one  making  it  his  business  to  be  assistant  to  the  wants  of  his 
countryman,  preserving  his  estate  and  reputation  with  the  same 
exactness  and  concern  as  he  does  his  own,  all  seeming  to  share 
in  the  misfortunes,  and  rejoice  at  the  advance  and  rise  of  their 
brethren."  They  were  trne  Presbyterians  in  their  forms  of 
M''orship,  their  government,  and  the  order  of  their  clergy  ;  and 
in  their  creed  followed  their  renowned  countryman,  John 
Calvin.  In  polite  and  elegant  manners,  severe  morality,  wise 
charity,  frugal  and  successful  industry,  they  were  evidentl}'  far 
above  the  English  settlers.  Bancroft  well  says:  "  The  children 
of  the  French  Calvinists  have  certainly  good  reason  to  hold  the 
memory  of  their  fathers  in  great  honor."  The  admixture  of 
Huguenot  blood  in  our  body  politic  has  been  an  admirable 
blessing.  It  has  been  compared  to  the  gold  which  tlie  Rus- 
sians cast  into  the  molten  mass  of  metal  for  the  great  bell  of 
Moscow.  Though  they  did  not  in  numbers  so  greatly  increase 
American  population,  or  alter  its  salient  features,  yet  they  did 
give  a  finer  tone  to  character,  and  a  richer  melody  to  the  drama 
of  living;  the  refinement  of  elegant  courtesy  to  society,  and 
lofty  chivalry  for  right  and  liberty.  There  is  power  in  noble 
traditions,  and  enduring  life  in  tlie  blood  of  the  true,  the  pure, 
and  the  brave.  Who  does  not  feel  this,  as  his  pulse  throbs  with 
honest  exultation  at  the  mere  mention  of  such  monumental 
names  as  those  of  the  Huguenots,  Henry  Lanrens^  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  Continental  Congress  ;  Matthew  Fontaine  Maury  ^  the 
High  Priest  of  the  seas,  pathless  before  he  marked  their  high- 
ways; Gabriel  Manigaidt^  who  at  seventy-five  years  of  age  laid 
his  fortune  at  the  command  of  his  State — South  Carolina — and 
his  struggling  country;  Francis  Marion,  prince  of  partizan 
leaders  in  the  wai*  of  liberty ;  and  many  others,  whose  fame 
lives  as  a  diadem  for   their  admiring  land  i     Though,  in  the 


CimiSTOl'lIER  EMANUEL  DE  GRAFFENRIEDT.  53 

Indian  Massticre,  these  Huguenot  colonists  were  victims,  yet 
they  have  descendants  who  hold  up  the  hlue  banner  of  their 
forefathers'  nuirtyr-faith. 

Our  attention  is  next  challenged  by 

He  was  a  citizen  of  Bern,  Switzerland,  the  elder  son  of  An- 
tony De  Griiaffenried,  Lord  of  Worb,  and  descended  from  a 
"  De  Griiaffenriedt,"  or  Graffenried,  a  follower  of  the  great 
Duke  Berchthold  V.,  the  founder  of  the  city  of  Bern.  This 
ancestor  built  the  family  castle  of  "  Worb,"  six  miles  from 
Bern,  and  inherited  by  Christopher  in  1730,  after  his  return 
from  Carolina  with  broken  fortune.  It  is  still  in  good  preser- 
vation. Christopher  is  described  as  a  handsome  and  fascinating 
man,  a  great  favorite  of  Queen  Anne,  of  England.  Upon 
his  purchasing  a  large  body  of  land,  with  certain  privileges, 
from  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina,  she  made  him  a  Baron 
of  England  and  Landgrave  of  Carolina.  His  patent  of  nobil- 
ity, written  in  Latin  on  parchment,  and  his  insignia  of  rank, 
his  golden  star,  with  its  obscure  heraldic  devices,  and  his  seal, 
are  in  possession  of  one  of  his  lineal  descendants  in  Dougherty 
Comity,  Ga.  Tradition,  fond  of  the  romantic,  has  long  woven 
around  the  "  star  "  the  pretty  story,  that  when  he  was  a  prisoner 
among  the  fierce  and  implacable  Indians,  he  saved  his  life  by 
its  exhibition  in  proof  that  he  was  a  king,  and  they  dared  not 
kill  him. 

De  Graffenried  had  been  "Bailli,"  or  Mayor,  or  (tovernor 
of  Yverdon,  in  Xeufchatel,  under  commission  from  the  Senate 
of  Bern.  Here  he  met  financial  reverses,  and  seeing  no  chance 
of  recuperation  at  home,  he — against  the  wishes  of  friends  and 
relatives — leaving  his  private  affairs  in  confusion,  secretly  started 
for  England,  with  the  design  of  building  up  his  fortune  in  far- 
off  America.  Long  had  he  been  attracted  thither  from  previous 
association  with  the  deceased  Duke  of  Albemarle.  He  seems 
to  have  been  a  mere  adventurer,  ready  for  any  money-making 
scheme.  With  himself  he  associated  Ludwig  Michel,  or  Lewis 
Mitchell,  also  from  Bern,  and  possessing  considerable  know- 


54  NEW  BERN. 

ledge  of  America.  Lawson,  in  his  history,  speaks  of  "my  in- 
genious friend,  Mr.  Francis  Louis  Mitchell,  of  Bern,  in  Switz- 
erland, who  has  been  for  several  years  very  indefatigable  and 
strict  in  his  discoveries  amongst  those  vast  ledges  of  mountains 
and  spacious  tracts  of  land  lying  towards  the  heads  of  the 
great  bays  and  rivers  of  Yirginia,  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  has  discovered  a  spacious  country,  inhabited  by  none 
but  savages,  and  not  many  of  them,  who  yet  are  of  a  very 
friendly  nature  to  the  Christians.  This  gentleman  has  been 
employed  by  the  Canton  of  Bern  to  find  out  a  tract  of  land  in 
the  English  America,  where  the  republic  might  settle  some  of 
their  people,  which  proposal,  I  believe,  is  now  in  a  fair  way  to- 
wards a  conclusion  between  her  Majesty  of  Great  Britain  and 
that  Canton,  which  must  needs  be  of  great  advantage  to  both." 

Prof.  Loher  (History  of  the  Germans)  describes  them  both 
as  bold  and  shrewd  men.  Williamson,  near  their  day,  says 
they  regarded  the  Germans  as  objects  of  speculation.  They 
are  pictured  as  enthusiasts,  who  believed  that  North  Carolina 
was  the  real  El  Dorado.  Such  emigration  agents,  dressed 
splendidly,  traversed  Europe,  and  offered  poor  people  most  fasci- 
nating inducements  to  emigrate.  The  "  Journal  of  the  House 
of  Commons"  says,  "There  were  books  and  papers  dispersed 
with  tlie  Queen's  picture,  and  the  title  page  in  letters  of  gold, 
which,  on  that  account,  were  called  'the  Golden  Book,'  to  en- 
courage the  people  to  come  to  England  to  be  sent  to  the  Caro- 
linas.^''  Pemembering  the  tactics  of  agents  to-da}^,  we  can  un- 
derstand what  power  was  then  wielded  by  such  canvassers  over 
the  ignorant,  poor  and  oppressed,  as  well  as  those  of  romantic 
and  adventurous  dispositions;  and  can  also  measure  the  bitter 
disappointment  that  frequently  bowed  down  newly  arrived  emi- 
grants, whose  voyage  had  been  filled  with  rosy  dreams.  Tlie 
same  system  was  pursued  by  John  Peter  Purry,  of  I^eufchatel, 
in  1731,  in  his  descriptive  pamj^hlet  about  South  Carolina,  which 
he  scattered  in  Switzerland  to  gather  his  people,  as  he  success- 
fully did,  for  that  colony. 

It  is  diflScult  to  get  accurate  information  about  the  Palatine  and 
Swiss  colonists  brought  by  De  Graffenried  and  Mitchell,  and 


THE  PALATINES,  55 

-especially  about  their  ecclesiastical  affairs,  before  and  after  their 
arrival.  I  have  made  very  laborious  search  after  this  know- 
ledge, and  had  an  extensive  correspondence  with  the  most 
learned  and  best  informed  men  and  women  in  this  State  and 
country,  with  this  result  in  the  main,  the  belief  that  such  light 
can  be  gotten,  if  obtainable  at  all,  only  from  hidden  old  man- 
uscripts hereabouts,  or  from  documents  in  European  libraries. 
Yet  some  facts,  new  to  most  persons,  will  be  stated  in  connec- 
tion with  others  of  general  history.  Also  valuable  and  en- 
tirely new  matter  will  be  given  from  a  yet  unpublished  and 
extended  contempoi-ary  manuscript  history  of  his  colony  by 
De  Graffenried.  Tiiis  document,  written  in  barbarous  French, 
has  recently  been  copied  from  the  original  in  the  public  library 
of  Yverdon,  Canton  de  Vaud,  and  will  fill  eighty  pages  in  the 
Colonial  Records^  now  in  press. 

The  Palatinate  was  a  fine  province  on  both  sides  of  the  up- 
per Rhine.  Its  capital  was  Heidelberg,  on  the  I^eckar,  with 
its  picturesque  castle,  and  its  famous  university.  The  Elector 
Palatine,  Frederick  III.,  surnamed  "the  Pious,"  who  died  in 
1576,  was  one  of  the  noblest  and  purest  German  princes, — the 
German  Alfred, — and  was  devoted  to  the  advancement  of  the 
political,  educational  and  ecclesiastical  prosperity  of  his  people. 
The  crowning  achievement  of  his  reign  was  the  preparation 
by  those  learned  and  pious  theologians  and  reformers,  Zacha- 
rias  Ursinns  and  Caspar  Olevianus,  of  the  Heidell)erg  Cate- 
chism. This  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated  formularies  of  doc- 
trine ever  composed,  and  stands  to  day  side  by  side  with  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith.  It  was  called  "The  Pala- 
tine Catechism";  stood  as  the  symbol  of  the  Palatine  Churcli, 
and  formed  the  foundation  of  family  instruction.  It  was 
adopted  in  St.  Gall,  Schaffhausen  and  Pern ;  was  the  first  Pro- 
testant catechism  planted  on  American  soil,  viz. :  on  Manhattan 
Island,  in  1009;  and  was  the  banner  of  The Refonned  i'hurch. 
To  the  youthful  Ursinus  Calvin  presented,  in  Geneva,  his 
works,  and  wrote  in  them  his  best  wishes.     Lutherans,  how- 


56  NEW  BERN. 

ever,  were  numerous  in  the  Palatinate.  But  the  elector  Fred- 
erick, though  reproached  and  threatened,  made  before  the  em- 
peror, at  the  diet  of  Augsburg,  in  1566,  as  manly  a  confession 
of  his  Reformed  Creed  as  Luther  at  Worms,  and  evoked  the  ad- 
miration of  his  opponents,  and  the  applause  of  the  Lutheran 
Elector  of  Saxony:  "Fritz,  thou  art  more  pious  than  all  of 
us. 

In  1613,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  I  of  England,  was 
married  to  Frederick,  Protestant  Elector  Palatine,  and  after- 
wards King  of  Bohemia.  George  IL  of  England  was  their 
grandson ;  and  so  Queen  Victoria  is  descended  from  Elizabeth, 
who  was  also  the  great  aunt  of  Queen  Anne.  After  several 
changes  in  the  Palatinate,  Charles,  Elector  Palatine,  died 
without  issue,  and  the  electorial  dignity  went,  in  1685,  to  the 
house  of  Newburg,  a  bigoted  popish  family.  This  upper  Pala- 
tinate of  the  Bhine  suffered  untold  horrors  from  a  long  series 
of  desolating  wars,  and  the  merciless  ravages  of  Tilly,  Turenne, 
and  Louis  XIV.  of  France,  and  the  unremitting  persecutions  by 
the  popish  Elector  of  these  decided  Protestant  subjects,  who 
would  die  rather  than  recant.  In  1622,  1634,  1688  and  1693, 
Heidelberg  was  taken,  and  desolated  with  Mohammedan  cru- 
elty. The  beautiful  land  was  cursed  by  the  rage  of  man. 
Houses  were  burned,  scores  of  cities  sacked,  and  in  Winter,  the 
whole  population  were  driven  into  fields  covered  with  snow 
and  ice.  Encouraged  by  a  proclamation  by  Queen  Anne,  and 
favorable  reports  from  countrymen  who  had  gone  before, 
12,000  Palatines  went  to  England  in  the  summer  of  1709,  and 
encamped  in  tents  near  London.  Here  they  were  pitiable  ob- 
jects of  English  charity,  and  at  the  same  time  creators  of  se- 
rious discontent  among  the  English  poor ;  for  bread  was  scarce, 
and  commanding  double  price,  while  these  foreigners  were 
supported  by  public  collections  and  by  the  Queen.  Twenty 
thousand  pounds  were  paid  into  the  treasury  for  them.  So  the 
native  sufferers  grumbled,  and  the  House  of  Commons  even 
voted  that  all  who  encouraged  the  Palatines  to  come  to  Eng- 
land were  enemies  to  tlie  nation.  Hence  they  must  be  removed. 
Ireland  and  the  American  colonies  afforded  appropriate  out- 


TIIK  PALATINES,  57 

lets.  De  Graffenricd  estimated  that,  at  the  very  time  of  his 
arrival,  more  than  20,000  Palatines  came  to  England,  but 
"intermingled  with  many  Swiss  and  people  of  other  German 
provinces."  He  and  Mitchell  were  looking  for  a  profitable 
speculation,  and  ready  to  grapple  with  this  problem  for  a 
consideration.  It  was  understood  that  "the  Queen  would  not 
only  assume  the  expense  of  their  transportation,  but  also  be- 
stow upon  them  considerable  assistance.  This  really  took 
place;  and  this  last  sum  amounted  to  o£-i,000  sterling."  Other 
advantageous  promises  gilded  the  enterprise.  Between  De 
Graffenried  and  the  Lords  Proprietors  was  drawn  up  an  elabo- 
rate contract,  which  still  exists.  His  pay  was  five  and  a  half 
pounds  apiece  for  six  hundred  and  fifty  Palatines  transported 
to  North  Carolina — more  than  $18,000.  Liberal  provision 
was  made  for  their  comfort  on  arrival,  and  for  their  sup- 
port for  a  year  in  their  new  homes.  This  agreement  bears 
date  October,  1709.  Young  people,  healthy  and  laborious, 
and  of  all  kinds  of  occupations,  were  selected,  and  ample  provi- 
sion was  made  for  their  comfortable  voyage  in  well-equipped 
ships.  De  Graifenried  appointed  three  directors,  notables 
from  North  Carolina,  tlien  in  London,  one  of  whom  seems  to 
have  been  Lawson,  the  surveyor-general;  for  he  could  not 
himself  sail  with  them,  as  he  had  to  await  his  colonists  from 
Bern. 

On  the  day  before  sailing,  he  went  to  Gravesend,  on  the 
Thames,  with  Rev.  Mr.  Cesar,  a  German  reformed  minister  of 
London,  who  preached  a  feeHng  and  appropriate  sermon  to  the 
departing  emigrants.  On  account  of  the  war,  Rear-Admiral 
Noris  was  permitted — as  a  signal  favor — to  escort  the  two  ves- 
sels with  his  squadron  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  Portugal.  They 
sailed  in  mild  weather,  in  January,  1710;  but  were  overtaken 
by  such  terrible  storms  that  the  voyage  lasted  tliirteen  weeks. 
All  suffered,  and  more  than  half  died  at  sea,  and  many  after 
lauding  died  from  eating  imprudently.  One  of  the  vessels, 
containing  tlie  best  goods  and  colonists,  was  plundered  by  a 
French  captain  at  the  mouth  of  James  River.  They  landed 
in  Virginia,  not  daring  to  go  by  sea  to  Carolina  on  account  of 
4 


58  NEW  BERN. 

privateers,  and  the  bars  at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers.  The  rem- 
nant, being  recruited  a  little,  travelled  by  land  to  Colonel  Pol- 
lock's, in  Albemarle,  on  the  Chowan.  Thence  they  crossed  the 
Sound  into  Bath  County,  and  "were  located  (in  May  or  June) 
by  the  Surveyor-General"  (Lawson)  "on  a  tongue  of  land  be- 
tween the  News  and  Trent  rivers,  called  Chattawka^  where 
afterwards  was  founded  the  small  city  of  New  Bern."  (Note: 
This  is  the  way  De  Graflfenried  writes  the  name.)  He  says  that 
Lawson  cheated  them  terribly,  by  putting  them  on  his  own  land, 
on  the  southern  bank  of  Trent,  "  at  the  very  hottest  and  most 
unhealthy  place,"  and  selling  them  the  before-mentioned  tongue 
of  land  at  a  heavy  price  and  as  uninhabited,  whereas  it  was  not 
his,  and  Indians  still  lived  there.  De  Graffenried  afterwards 
bought  this  tongue  from  the  Indian  King  Taylor. 

With  faith  in  their  leaders,  and  committing  their  money  to 
De  Graffenried,  tliese  "poor  Palatines"  (as  the3'  were  termed) 
had  come  to  the  new  world.  They  "were  forced  to  stay  until 
September  in  the  greatest  poverty,  and  to  sell  nearly  all  their 
clothes  and  movables  to  the  neighboring  inhabitants,  in  order 
to  sustain  their  life." 

^rriual  ol  i\i\^  Sttiiss. 

The  Swiss  embarked  in  Holland,  under  contract  with  the 
•owner  of  a  ship  from  Boston,  and  sailed  for  Newcastle,  in  the 
northeast  of  England,  where  De  Graffenried  joined  them  and 
sailed  for  Yirginia  at  the  beginning  of  June,  1710.  Only  one 
ship-load  is  mentioned,  so  the  number  of  Swiss  could  not  have 
been  as  large  as  sometimes  stated.  They  had  a  happy  passage, 
in  want  of  nothing,  and  pursued  the  same  journey  the  Pala- 
tines had  traversed,  by  Col.  Pollock's,  and  so  on  to  New  Bern. 
There  "a  sad  state  of  things,  sickness,  want,  and  desperation 
having  reach  their  climax,"  greeted  them.  De  Graffenried's 
life  was  in  danger.  The  troubles  of  Cary's  rebellion  were  upon 
him,  too.  He  set  to  work  energetically  to  establish  the  colony 
in  comfort.  He  says  that  in  eighteen  months  they  "managed 
to  build  homes  and  make  themselves  so  comfortable,  that  they 
made  more  progress  in  that  length  of  time  than  the  English 


ECCLESIASTICAL  AFFAIRS.  59 

inhabitants  in  several  years."  There  was  only  one  water-mill 
in  the  wole  province ;  rude  mortars  and  hand-mills  were  used 
for  breaking  their  corn.  But  his  colonists  arranged  wheel- 
works  on  the  brooklets  to  pound  their  grain,  and  he  began  the 
construction  of  a  water-mill.  But  as  after  "  such  cross-accidents, 
misliaps,  and  inconveniences,"  a  happy  state  of  things  was  dawn- 
ing upon  them,  the  desolating  Indian  massacre  and  long  war 
burst  in  fury  over  their  homes,  and  he  was  captured  by  the 
savages.  Before  giving  a  condensation  of  his  account  of  his 
captivity,  and  the  close  of  his  connection  with  the  settlement, 
we  will  further  consider  the  colonists. 

3:ccle$ia$tical  Affairs. 

Some  of  these  Palatines  were  doubtless  Lutherans.  But 
judging  from  facts  already  given,  and  from  their  well  known 
history  in  Xew  York  and  Pennsylvania,  large  numbers,  if  not 
the  body  of  them,  must  have  been  Reformed  or  Calvinists. 
When,  in  1746,  Eev.  Michael  Schlatter  (who  was  from  St, 
Gall,  Switzerland,)  was  sent  by  the  Synod  of  Holland  to  look 
after  the  Eeformed  German  churches,  he  ti'avelled  in  his  in- 
vestigating and  organizing  tour  from  the  Delaware  to  beyond 
the  Potomac,  and  found  forty-six  churches  and  30,000  Re- 
formed population.  These  were  largely  from  the  Palatinate. 
In  the  manual  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  by  Rev. 
E.  T.  Corwin,  D.  D.,  it  is  stated,  that  "the  full  tide  of  emi- 
gration did  not  fairly  begin"  (from  the  Palatinate)  "till  about 
1709.  In  this  year  four  thousand  Palatinates  embarked  for 
Kew  York,  but  seventeen  hundred  died  on  the  passage.  They 
were  invited  to  settle  on  the  Livingston  Manor,  and  many  of 
them  did  so.  Others  settled  in  Schoharie  and  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mohawk.  The  following  year  large  numbers  of  the  same 
cl&ssjfed  to  North  Carolina  (where  some  French  Protestants 
had  already  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  !Xeuse),  and  founded 
Neio  Bern.  They  had  preachers  among  them.  But  in  1713  the 
settlement  was  broken  up  by  the  Indians.  The  remnant  fled 
to  South  Carolina." 

The  "Ilistoric  Manual  of  the  Reformed  Church,"  by  Prof. 


60  NEW  BERN. 

Jos.  H.  Dnbbs,  D.  D.,  of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  states  that  "  Hemy 
Hoeger,  a  Keformed  minister,  appears  to  have  accompanied 
De  Graff enried's  Swiss  colony,  which,  in  1710,  founded  Kew 
Bern,  N.  C.  When  the  settlement  had  been  scattered  by  the 
Tnscarora  Indians,  he  accompanied  about  fifty  of  the  survivors 
to  Yirginia,  where  they  were  employed  by  Governor  Spottis- 
woode.  A  cotemporary  document,  preserved  in  Perry's  'His- 
toric Collections,'  relates  '  that  there  went  out  with  the  first 
twelve  families  one  minister,  named  Henry  Hoeger,  a  very 
sober,  honest  man,  of  about  seventy-five  years  of  age.  But 
he  being  likely  to  be  past  service  in  a  short  time,  they  have 
empowered  Mr.  Jacob  Christ ofle  Zollikofer,  of  St.  Gall,  in 
Switzerland,  to  go  into  Europe,  there  to  obtain,  if  possible, 
some  contributions  from  pious  and  charitable  Christians  to- 
wards the  building  of  their  church,  and  the  bringing  over  with 
him  of  a  young  German  minister  to  assist  the  aforesaid  Mr. 
Hoeger  in  the  ministry  of  religion,  and  to  succeed  him  when 
he  shall  die,  and  to  get  him  ordained  in  England  by  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Bishop  of  London,  and  to  bring  over  with  him  the  liturgy 
of  the  Church  of  England,  translated  into  high  Dutch,  which 
they  are  desirous  to  use  in  public  worship.  They  also  seek 
the  support  of  a  minister  from  the  Venerable  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel.'  It  seems,  they  felt  themselves  too 
weak  to  stand  alone,  and  consequently  'conformed'  to  the  Es- 
tablished Church.  They  were  organized  into  an  Episcopal 
Parish,  with  the  reserved  r?(/ht  to  emjdoy  their  own  ?ninisters, 
and  on  their  own  terms.''''  Acting  under  dire  stress  of  adverse 
circumstances,  they  were  still  unwilling  to  bind  themselves 
blindly  and  inextricably.  In  Western  Carolina  the  Reformed 
Germans  entered  Granville  County  in  1740  under  better  aus- 
pices, with  ministers  Tobler  and  Zuberblihler. 

The  sin  of  these  Germans  was  their  Protestantism.  They 
brought  with  them  across  the  ocean  their  B'lUes,  hymn-hooks^ 
catechisms^  and  other  religious  hooks. 

I  have  found  and  copied  the  following  interesting  item  from 
the  old  records  of  the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  in  Craven 
County,  December,  1740.     Present:  George  Roberts,  Joseph 


THIS,  SWISS.  61 

Haniiis,  and  James  Macklwaine,  Esqrs :  "  A  petition  of  the 
Palintines  or  High  Germans  praying  that  they  may  have 
Liherty  to  hnild  a  Chaple  on  trent  for  a  phice  of  worship  etc — 
granted — " 

This  looks  as  if  these  poor  ^^ Palintines''''  had  not  forgotten 
the  great  embodiment  of  their  heroic  faith,  tlie  Heidelberg 
Catechism  of  1563.  In  1729,  there  were  15,000  of  these 
Germans  and  Swiss  in  Pennsylvania;  and  in  1731,  eight  hun- 
dred exiled  Palatines  passed  through  Dordrecht,  while  the 
Synod  of  Holland  was  in  session  there,  to  embark  at  Rotter- 
dam for  America.  This  Presbyterian  Synod  visited  them  in 
a  body,  held  worship  with  them,  ministered  to  their  necessi- 
ties, and  promised  future  aid  to  these  brethren  of  the  common 
Reformed  faith. 

I'fie  Swiss. 

What  were  the  causes  of  the  large  Swiss  emigration  to 
America  ?  Many  from  Switzerland  were  refugees  there.  That 
republic  was  the  common  refuge  for  persecuted  Protestants  in 
the  Reformation  period.  The  tires  of  bloody  Mary  in  England, 
tlie  relentless  fury  of  the  Spanish  in  the  Netherlands,  the  dia- 
bolical revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  by  France,  drove 
numbers  of  English,  French  and  Dutch  to  this  mountain  re- 
treat, where  Italians  joined  them  in  holy  exile  and  noble  suf- 
fering for  Christ.  John  Knox  and  John  Calvin  are  illustrious 
examples.  By  an  agreement  between  the  Protestant  Cantons, 
Bern  was  to  receive  and  aid  one-half  of  the  needy  fugitives. 
At  one  time  nearly  every  well-to-do  family  in  tlie  Canton  Zu- 
rich had  one  or  more  refugees  quartered  upon  it  by  order  of 
the  government.  Antintes  Hess  says  (Tercentenary  Volume, 
Zurich,  1819),  "From  1682  to  1685  many  hundreds  of  French 
exiles  settled  in  Zurich.  In  1686,  one  thousand  Piedmontese 
refugees  arrived.  In  1688,  there  were  more  than  3,000.  In 
1687,  the  Swiss  confederation  sent  delegates  to  the  Palatinate^ 
Brandenburg,  Hesse,  and  Holland,  requesting  the  governments 
of  these  countries  to  aid  Switzerland  in  providing  for  the  exiles 
of  tlie  Reformed  Church."  In  1687,  in  five  weeks,  8,000  Pro- 
testant refugees  entered  Geneva;  28,000  had  passed  through 


62  Nj:W  BERN. 

seeking  some  asylum,  and  ordinarily  there  were  3,000  in  the 
city.  The  French  Protestant  Refugee  Fund,  established  in 
1545,  and  having  8,000  crowns  capital,  was  exhausted.  In 
1696,  there  were  in  the  Canton  of  Bern,  including  its  depen- 
dency, the  Pays  du  Yaux,  6,500  male  refugees,  of  whom  2,000 
were  paupers,  dependent  on  public  support.  Some  German- 
Swiss  objected  to  the  billeting  refugees  on  them ;  and  guards, 
with  halberds  in  hand,  had  to  force  the  hospitality.  Legacies, 
donations,  collections  in  churches,  appeals  of  the  Waldenses, 
and  public  subsidies,  were  given  to  maintain  the  suffering 
of  Christ's  persecuted  people.  Still  earnest  efforts  were  made 
to  facilitate  their  departure.  Thousands  were  helped  to  leave, 
but  many  were  driven  back  by  the  army  of  Louis  XIV.  In 
1703,  many  came  from  the  Principality  of  Orange.  Many  of 
these  refugees  were  l)lessings  to  Switzerland  ;  but  their  num- 
bers were  too  large.  Such  was  the  stoi-y  year  after  year,  until 
the  burden  became  ruinous,  and  the  hospitable  Cantons  were 
compelled  to  find  homes  for  their  homeless  and  unbidden  guests. 
Moreover,  many  refugees  were  skilled  mechanics,  and  took 
work  away  from  native  artizans,  so  that  great  distress  ensued.* 
Einhjration  was  relief. 

The  religious  war  in  Switzerland,  in  1703  and  onward,  caused 
sore  disturbances  and  ruin.  Switzerland  depended  for  its  politi- 
cal existence  on  fidelity  to  the  treaty  of  Westphalia,  made  in 
1638.  Catholics,  Lutherans  and  Reformed  were  the  only  reli- 
gious bodies  recognized  by  that  settlement.  Anarchical  Anabap- 
tists were  not  to  be  tolerated;  so  a  violent  persecution  arose 
against  the  Mennonites  in  Zurich  and  Bern,  which  reached  its 
culmination  in  1710.  Many  of  this  sect  went  to  the  Palatinate, 
and  thence  to  Pennsylvania.  (Seidenstecker's  Gedachtnissblat- 
ter,  page  ^^^)  Tliere  were  also  Swiss  who  quit  their  country  be- 
cause they  could  not  conscientiously  subscribe  to  the  "  Helvetic 
Consensus  Formula,"  directed  against  certain  errors  of  the 
French  Church,  and  prevailing  for  half  a  century  after  its 
adoption  by  the  Reformed  Cantons  in  1675.  (Mosheim,  III. 
435 ;  Schaff's  Creeds,  I.  477,  &c.) 

*  Weiss's  Prot.  Ref  ugeep,  Vol.  II.  pp.  163,  &c. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  CHARACTER.  6^^ 

Tliese  influences,  united  to  the  movements  of  the  skilful  em-- 
igration  agents  before  recited,  sufiiciently  account  for  a  wide 
spread  willingness  to  seek  new  homes. 

l-ccfesiasficnl  (C\\avntitv. 

Switzerland  was  the  birth-place  and  home  of  the  Reformed 
Church  This  was  the  State  Church.  In  form  it  was  Presby- 
terian, and  in  doctrine  Augustinian,  as  set  fortli  in  its  Isiceno- 
Constantinopolitan  C^rced.  Its  great  theologians  were  Calvin, 
and  Francis  Tnrrettine,  with  the  lesser,  jet  brilliant  liglits, 
Oecolampadius,  Farel,  Zwingli,  and  Bullenger.  The  Palatinate 
Confession  was  accepted  in  Switzerland;  and  the  second  Helve- 
tic Confession,  prepared  by  Pnllenger,  in  156G,  and  adopted  by 
eight  Swiss  Cantons,  was  also  adopted  by  the  Palatinate.  Bern, 
the  most  conservative,  aristocratic  and  influential  Canton  in  1528, 
led  by  Zwingli,  promulgated  her  famous  "  Ten  Conclusions," 
which  were  approved  by  all  the  leading  Swiss  reformers.  This 
was  clearly  the  Calvinistic  faith,  professed  by  tlie  South  Caro- 
lina Swiss  at  Pnrrysburg,  with  their  pastor,  Kev.  Jos.  Btirgnion  ; 
by  the  Swiss  pastors.  Christian  Theus,  in  the  Congaree  settle- 
ment, and  John  Ulrich  Giessendanner,  at  Orangeburg.  In 
worship  and  doctrine,  then,  the  Swiss  were  doubtless  Presbyte- 
rian and  apostolic,  and  seem  generally  to  have  been  sincerely 
attached  to  their  creed  and  clmrcli. 

Great  difficulties  existed  in  obtaining  ministers  for  the  Ger- 
man Peformed  churches,  and  supporting  them.  The  Classis  of 
the  Palatinate  was  "  The  Church  Under  the  Cross,"  persecuted 
and  poor,  and  appealed  to  the  Synod  of  Holland  for  help  for 
its  American  emigrants.  The  Classis  of  Amsterdam  agreed  to 
help  them,  provided  they  adhered  to  the  Heidelberg  Cate- 
chism, the  Palatinate  Confession  of  Faith,  and  the  Canons  and 
Kules  of  Church  Government  of  Dort.  Mr.  Schlatter,  in  1746, 
found  only  four  regularly  ordained  ministers  for  forty-six 
churches  and  30,000  people.  It  was  deemed  necessary  for  a 
long  time  to  get  tlieir  clergy  from  Europe,  or  to  send  their 
candidiites  on  tlie  long  and  expensive  voyage  acrot-s  the  ocean 
to  be  ordained.     These  difficulties,  and  desires  to  have  some 


64:  NEW  BERN. 

ministrations  of  the  Gospel,  gave  a  fine  opportunity  for  the  Es- 
tablished Church  of  England,  with  its  wealth,  position  and 
prestige,  to  proselyte  the  newcomers.  In  some  cases  they  were 
successful;  but  generally  they  were  earnestly  resisted  and  fully 
thwarted.  Illustrations  may  be  seen  in  Corwin's  "  Manual  of 
the  Reformed  Church,"  in  accounts  of  Scliiatter,  John  H.  Goet- 
schey,  Michael  Weiss, — all  Swiss  preachers, — and  others. 

A  fulsome,  cringing,  disgusting  letter  was  written  from 
New  Bern  in  1711,  by  De  Graifenried  to  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, "humbly  requesting  your  lordship  to  accept  of  me  and  my 
people,  and  receive  us  into  your  Cluirch,  under  your  lordship's 
patronage,  and  w^e  shall  esteem  ourselves  happy  aoiis  of  a  let- 
ter stock,^^  and  more  of  that  sort.  Nothing  save  a  recommen- 
dation seems  to  have  resulted  from  this  petition.  De  Graifen- 
ried writes  as  if  he  had  the  consciences  of  men  made  of  martyr 
stuff  in  his  pocket,  as  he  had  their  money  and  the  titles  to 
their  lands.  His  moral  integrity,  illustrated  in  his  treach- 
erously failing  to  give  them  titles  to  their  lands,  and  causing 
them  to  appeal  to  the  crown  for  relief,  and  his  speculation  in 
bringing  them  over,  were  scarcely  so  attractive  as  to  exalt  him 
to  spiritual  leadership.  It  seems  improbable  that  these  emi- 
-grants,  as  a  body,  authorized  that  letter,  and  recanted  apostolic 
principle,  for  which  they  were  so  lately  willing  to  die.  Nei- 
ther does  it  appear,  so  far  as  the  history  of  this  people  can  be 
followed  in  their  children,  that  any  large  portion  of  them  en- 
tered the  Estal)lished  Church.  Lack  of  religious  privileges 
and  organization  resulted  in  scattering  those  who  survived  the 
Indian  massacre,  and  remained  in  this  section,  into  various 
churches  as  they  were  established. 

He  (Sraflcnriei's  OHapfurc. 

In  September,  1711,  taking  fifteen  days'  provision,  two  ne- 
groes to  row,  and,  for  safety,  two  well-known  Indian  neigh- 
bors, one  of  whom  spoke  English,  De  Graffenried  started  up 
the  Neuse  River  with  Lawson  for  general  exploration.     He 


DE  GRAFFENRIEd's  CAPTURE.  65 

-wished  to  know  whether  the  river  was  navigable  higher  up, 
how  far  it  was  to  the  mountains,  and  whether  a  new  and  bet- 
ter road  to  A^irginia  could  be  laid  out.  No  danger  was  appre- 
hended, for  no  savages  lived  on  the  river.  One  Indian  went 
on  the  Baron's  horse  by  land,  and,  being  compelled  at  one 
place  to  cross  the  river,  came  to  the  Indian  King  Hencock's 
village,  Catechna.  The  Indians  questioned  him,  were  alarmed, 
kept  the  horse,  and  sent  the  rider  to  warn  the  boating  parties 
that  they  would  not  be  permitted  to  advance,  but  must  return. 
It  being  late  when  the  bad  news  was  received,  they  landed  at 
the  next  spring,  not  far  from  another  village,  Coerntha,  to 
pass  the  night.  A  number  of  armed  Indians  met  them,  plun- 
dered their  things,  and  took  them  prisoners.  They  were  proud 
of  the  capture,  for  they  took  De  Graffenried  to  be  Governor  of 
the  Province;  ran  them  all  night  through  the  woods,  thickets 
and  swamps,  and  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  reached 
Catechna,  where  King  Ilencock  was  sitting  in  state  on  a  plat- 
form, with  his  council  around  him.  Their  case  was  discussed, 
but  no  conclusion  was  reached.  Vengeance  was  wanted  "for 
the  rough  dealings  of  a  few  wicked  English  Carolinians  who 
lived  near  the  Pamptego,  Neuse  and  Trent  Rivers."  It  was 
also  to  be  ascertained  what  "help  they  could  expect  from  their 
Indian  neighbors." 

By  ten  o'clock  at  night,  the  neighboring  kings,  with  their 
retinues,  had  come  in;  and  the  "assembly  of  the  great,  consist- 
ing of  forty  elders  sitting  on  the  ground  around  a  tire,  con- 
vened, with  King  Ilencock  presiding,  examined  the  prisoners, 
and  consulted.  They  complained  of  abuses  by  the  whites,  and 
especially  of  Surveyor-General  Lawson.  After  a  vote  it  was 
determined  that  they  could  be  liberated  on  the  morrow.  Dur- 
ing some  delay  the  next  day  in  getting  their  canoe,  some  other 
distinguished  Indians  arrived,  and  a  second  examination  was 
held  at  King  Hencock's  cabin,  two  miles  from  the  village. 
The  king  of  the  village.  Core,  reproached  Lawson  for  some- 
thing, and  the  two  had  a  violent  quarrel,  which  De  GrafFenried 
vainly  tried  to  arrest.  He  sharply  upbraided  Lawson  for  his 
imprudence  in  such  delicate  circumstances.     Suddenly  three  or 


6Q  NEW  BERN. 

or  four  of  the  "Great"  pounced  upon  them,  threw  their  hats 
and  periwigs  into  the  fire,  led  thera  to  the  Council-ground,  con- 
demned them  to  death  without  assigning  any  cause,  kept  them 
sitting  in  one  position  on  the  ground  until  daylight,  and  then 
led  them  to  the  execution  ground.  Bitterly  did  the  Baron  re- 
proach Lawson  as  the  cause  of  their  misfortune,  and  with 
great  zeal  set  about  making  his  peace  with  God.  Seeing  a 
savage  dressed  like  a  Christian,  who  knew  English,  he  asked 
the  cause  of  their  condemnation.  He  reluctantly  answered: 
"Wh}^  Lawson  had  quarreled  with  Cor  Tom?  That  we 
had  threatened  that  we  would  avenge  ourselves  on  the  In- 
dians." He  took  this  Indian  aside,  explained  matters  to  him, 
and  offered  large  rewards  if  he  would  show  his  innocence  to 
some  of  the  "  Great." 

Bound  hand  and  feet,  undressed,  and  bare-headed,  they  with 
the  larger  negro  were  seated  in  the  centre  of  the  exoviution- 
ground.  Before  them  burned  a  fierce  fire ;  near  by  stood  the 
grizzled  highpriest,  then  a  wolf  skin,  and  a  motionless  savage 
"in  the  most  dreadful  and  horrible  position,  with  a  knife  in  one 
hand  and  an  axe  in  the  other."  A  great  dancing  rabble,  beat- 
ing drum,  mournful  singing,  guns  discharging,  dreadful  bowl- 
ings, faces  painted  black,  red,  and  white,  hair  greased  and 
sprinkled  over  with  small  pieces  of  cotton  or  with  feathers  and- 
flying  out,  all  dressed  like  a  set  of  devils,  and  darting  in  and 
out  of  the  wood,  combined  to  make  a  fearful  scene,  premonitory 
of  horible  agonies.  De  Graffenried  prayed  fervently,  recalled 
what  lie  had  read  in  the  Scripture  and  other  good  books,  and 
"  prepared  himself  to  a  good  and  salutary  death."  Especially 
did  Christ's  rtiiracles  comfort  him.  Again  night  approached, 
another  immense  fire  was  kindled  in  the  woods,  and  the  Coun- 
cil once  more  assembled.  Knowing  that  one  of  them  under- 
stood English,  he  addressed  them,  asserted  his  innocence,  threat- 
ened the  vengeance  of  the  powerful  Queen  of  England  if  they 
shed  his  blood,  and  made  promises  for  his  liberation.  One  of 
the  notables,  a  relative  of  King  Taylor,  from  whom  the  site  of 
New  Bern  had  l)een  bought,  spoke  earnestly  in  his  favor.  A 
delegation  was  thereupon  sent  to  their  neighbors,  the   Tusca- 


DE  GRAFFENKIED's  CAPTURE.  6T 

roras,  to  consult  King  Tom  Blunt.  He  says:  "I  spent  that 
whole  night  in  great  anguish,  awaiting  my  fate  (always  bound 
in  the  same  place)  in  continuous  prayers  and  sighs.  Mean- 
while I  also  examined  my  poor  negro,  exhorting  him  in  the 
best  way  I  knew,  and  he  gave  me  more  satisfaction  than  I  ex- 
pected ; — htit  I  lei  Sarmyor-General  Laioson  o-ffer  his  own 
prayers^  as  being  a  man  of  understanding^  and  not  ovev-reli- 
giousP  Towards  morning  the  delegates  returned,  and  De 
Graftenried  was  unbound  and  told  he  had  nothing  to  fear,  but 
was  forbidden  to  speak  to  Lawson,  who  took  leave  of  him,  and 
told  him  to  say  farewell  in  his  name  to  his  friends.  The  negro 
was  also  liberated,  and  the  Baron  was  led  away.  His  record 
states,  "They  executed  that  unfortunate  Lawson;  as  to  liis 
death,  I  know  nothing  certain ;  some  Indians  told  me  that  he 
was  threatened  to  have  his  throat  cut  with  the  razor  which  was 
found  in  his  pocket, — what  also  acknowledged  the  small  negro, 
who  was  not  executed, — Init  some  said  he  was  hung,  some  said 
he  was  burnt.  The  Indians  kept  that  execution  very  secret. 
God  have  mercy  upon  the  poor  soul!"  Chief-Justice  Gale, 
however,  understood  from  the  Indians  that  "  they  stuck  him  full 
of  fine  splinters  of  torch-wood^  like  hogs'  bristles^  and  so  set 
them  gradually  on  fire.'''' 

De  Graffenried  was  kept  a  prisoner  for  six  weeks,  while  live 
hundred  Indians  were  murdering  and  plundering  the  colonists,, 
and  women  and  children  were  brouglit  in  as  prisoners  with  great 
booty.  A  boy  he  knew  from  his  own  German  settlement  told 
him  the  sad  tale.  At  length  he  made  a  treaty  with  the  Tusca- 
roras,  Marmusckits,  and  Cors ;  and,  by  a  promised  ransom,  and 
a  threatening  message  from  Governor  Spottiswood,  he  was  car- 
ried to  Tasqui,  a  palisaded  Tuscarora  village;  where  a  great 
council  was  held  around  the  big  fire  in  their  town  circle.  Dan- 
gers threatened  liim  still,  and  especially  from  an  advance  of 
sixty  English  and  Palatines  on  the  village  of  Catechna.  The 
colonists  were  repelled  with  loss.  Two  days  afterwards  two 
notables  escorted  him  on  a  horse  two  leagues,  gave  liim  a  piece 
of  Indian-bread,  and  warning  him  of  danger  in  the  forest  from 
foreign  Indians,  advised  him  to  run  as  fast  as  he  could  for  two- 


■68  NEW  BERN. 

Lours.  So  he  did  till  nigbt,  and  went  on  for  two  days  without 
arms,  a  knife,  or  anything  with  which  to  strike  fire.  Nearly 
dead  with  cold  and  exposure,  his  legs  and  arms  stiff  and  swollen, 
supporting  himself  on  two  sticks,  and  tanned  by  exposure,  as  he 
aj^proached  his  fortified^house,  he  looked  so  much  like  a  ghost 
or  an  Indian  spy,  that  his  people  did  not  at  first  recognize  him ; 
soon,  however,  men,  women  and  children  met  him  with  sur- 
prise, shouting  and  weeping,  that  moved  him  to  tears. 

Troubles  now  multiplied  around  the  New  Bern  Colony.  Sixty 
or  seventy  Palatines  and  Swiss  had  been  killed ;  many  had  run 
away;  some  had  been  seduced  to  join  the  English  in  a  garrison; 
half  tlie  Palatines  had  deserted  during  the  Baron's  imprison- 
ment ;  fifteen  were  prisoners,  waiting  ransom ;  provisions  and 
ammunition  were  exhausted  ;  and  with  a  crowd  of  women  and 
children,  he  had  only  forty  men  able  to  bear  arms.  Brice  and 
A  turbulent  Palatine  blacksmith  destroyed  the  effects  of  his 
treaty  with  the  Indians,  so  that  houses  marked  with  "N,"  ac- 
cording to  its  stipulations,  were  sacked.  He  supported  the 
remnant  for  twenty-two  weeks  at  his  own  expense.  But  the 
end  was  near.  Disorganization,  dissension,  cowardice  and 
destitution,  were  everywhere.  His  credit  was  gone,  and  his 
drafts  were  protested.  An  astonishing  and  almost  incredible 
series  of  mishaps  attended  everything  he  attempted.  Gary  de- 
fied all  the  injunctions  of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  and  all  their 
fair  promises  failed  liim.  He  hurls  about  very  liberally  his 
denunciations  of  ignorance,  cowardice,  incapacity  and  rascality, 
while  he  classes  himself  as  "  an  honest  man  and  a  good  Chris- 
tian." Mitchell  is  charged  with  grave  deception  about  the 
mines,  and  dishonest  practices.  A  writ  of  arrest  was  issued 
against  himself  for  a  protested  bill  of  exchange.  He  skulked  in  a 
friend's  house ;  tried  to  run  ofl:"  his  slaves ;  thought  once  of  mov- 
ing the  "  remainder  of  the  faitliful  Palatines  and  the  small  band 
of  Swiss"  to  the  mines  in  Virginia;  mortgaged  his  property  to 
Colonel  Pollock ;  then  abused  his  colonists  as  the  cause  of  their 
own  disasters,  being  deserters  from  their  king  and  from  him, 
and  such  ungodly  people — "  thieves,  lewd  fellows,  profane  fel- 
lows, slanderers" — "that  it  is  no  wonder  if  the  Alniiglitv  has 


FOUNDING  OF  NEW  BERN,  6^ 

punished  tliera  by  irieuns  of  the  heathen, — for  they  are  worse 
than  tliese,  ....  I  was  more  sorry  to  leave  such  a  beautiful 
and  good  country  than  such  wicked  people.  There  were,  how- 
evei*,  some  little  good  grain,  1  mean  a  few  persons  fearing  God, 
who  loved  me  and  whom  I  loved ;  I  wish  them  all  kind  of 
prosperity.  May  God  convert  the  balance !''  So  he  grew 
angry,  bitter  in  his  disappointment,  prejudiced,  and  unjust. 
Slipping  off  to  New  York, — which  he  found  a  "  nice  place," — he 
sailed  thence  to  England,  where  he  arrived  in  the  spring  of 
1713,  and  reached  Bern  on  the  day  of  St.  Martin,  1713.  He 
dared  not  take  a  passport  in  London  from  fear  of  arrest  by  his 
American  creditors.  The  cold  shoulder  was  given  him  by  old 
friends, — "  many  people  bloated  up  ^^■ith  pride  or  arrogance  !" 
he  says.  His  "  company  "  abandons  him,  "  and  so,  I  was  com- 
pelled to  abandon  that  colony."  And  now  comes  the  conclud- 
ing pious  retlection  of  this  tried  Bernese-Palatine  speculating 
philanthropist ;  "  since  fate  will  not  favor  me  any  more  in  this 
world,  there  is  no  better  remedy  than  to  leave  it  and  to  seek 
the  treasure  from  above,  where  moth  and  rust  doth  not  con- 
sume, and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor  steal." 

3^outtdttt(s  of  Iteiu  Bern* 

De  Graffenried  spoke  to  the  Indians  of  the  proof  of  his  good 
intentions  given  "by  the  gentleness  and  civility  of  my  behavior 
towards  them,  and  by  the  payment  which  I  made  to  them  of 
the  lands  where  I  had  settled  at  first,  and  w/iere  I  had  foxinded 
the  small  toicn  of  JS^eio  Bern,  although  I  had  already  paid 
double  their  worth  to  the  surveyor  Lawson."  It  was  probably 
laid  off  by  Lawson  and  Col.  Pollock  in  May  or  June,  1710,  and 
was  called  XewBcrn,  in  compliment  to  Bern,  the  birth-place  of 
both  the  Baron  and  Mitchell,  leaders  of  the  colony.  At  the 
foot  of  Broad  street,  on  the  Ilseuse,  was  formerly  a  hill,  called 
"  Council  Bluff."  Here  in  solemn  assemblage,  around  their 
fiercely  blazing  council  fires,  the  revengeful  savages,  under 
King  Taylor,  deliberated  on  war,  peace,  or  vengeance.  Be- 
tween this  dread  spot  and  the  foot  of  Craven  street  is  said  to 
lie  the  location  of  the  original  settlers  of  the  City  of  Elms. 


70  NEW  BERN. 

So  was  born  the  second  town  in  North  Carolina,  Bath  having 
been  laid  out  in  1705.  Bath  never  grew.  In  Novemb^er,  1723, 
Kew  Bern  was  made  a  township,  covering  two  hundred  and 
fifty  acres,  and  soon  became  the  Capital  of  the  colony.  The 
old  deeds  in  the  clerk's  office  contain  this  singular  provision, 
that  if  the  purchaser  of  the  town  lot  died  without  heirs,  or  a 
will,  the  property  would  escheat  to  Cullen  Pollock,  his  heirs 
or  assigns.  Purchasers  also  pay  a  pepper-corn  rent,  if  de- 
manded. 

^ratii^n  Cotttttgt 

Was  named  after  WiUia^i,  Earl  of  Cr'aven,  one  of  the  Lords 
Proprietors,  and  called  in  the  charter,  "  our  trusty  and  well  be- 
loved William  Lord  Craven."  In  the  interesting  gallery  of 
paintings  in  Kensington  Museum,  London,  I  recently  saw  a 
portrait  of  the  Earl,  painted  by  Honhorst,  and  presented  by 
the  Earl  of  Craven,  in  December,  1868.  His  face  is  remark- 
ably fine.     Beneath  the  picture  runs  this  legend : 

"WILLIAM,  EARL  OF  CRAVEN, 

"  1606-1692,  Son  of  Sir  "William  Craven,  Merchant  Tailor  and  Lord 
Mayor  of  London, 
"  Served  with  distinction  under  Gustavus  Adolphus,  and  afterwards  entered 
the  service  of  the  Prince  of  Orange.  He  aided  with  the  wealth  at  his  com- 
mand the  exiled  members  of  the  royal  family,  more  particularly  Elizabeth, 
Queen  of  Bohemia.  He  was  created  Earl  of  Craven  in  1665,  and  succeeded 
Monck  as  colonel  of  the  Coldstream  Guards. 

"During  the  prevalence  of  the  great  plague,  he  remained  in  London,  visit- 
ing the  infected  and  devising  means  to  prevent  contagion.  In  the  following 
year,  1660,  he  successfully  exerted  himself  to  subdue  the  ravages  of  the  great 
Fire.  Lord  Craven  was  a  most  accomplished  gentleman.  He  died  unmarried 
at  his  house  in  Drury  Lane. " 

So  the  county  may  well  take  laudable  pride  in  its  honorable 
name. 

i^ily^x  itnitiigrants* 

About  1710,  came  a  colony  of  Welch  Quakers,  and  settled 
below  New  Bern,  on  Clubfoot  and  Hancock  Creeks,  on  the 
South  side  of  the  Neuse.  Among  these  were  Thomas  and  John 
Lovick,  the  latter  of  whom  was  one  of  the  North  Cai-olina 


OTHER  IMMIGRANTS.  71 

Boundary  Commission  in  1728,  to  settle  the  line  between  Vir- 
ginia and  Xortli  Carolina.  Roger  and  Evan  Jones  were  also 
among-  them.  The  name  of  tlie  last  appears  in  tlie  ofticial  list 
of  freeholders  and  jurymen  in  the  laws  of  1723.  Another 
German  cluster  of  immigrants  landed  at  New  Bern  in  1732, 
among  whom  were  John  Martin  I'vancks,  James  Blachshear 
and  PJdlvp  Miller.  These  ascended  the  Ti-ent  twenty  miles, 
and  liaving  no  hoi'ses  or  other  stock,  then  packed  their  goods 
on  their  backs,  and  heroically  plunging  into  the  virgin  forest, 
unscarred  by  an  axe,  settled  in  that  part  of  Craven  now  known 
as  Jones  County. 

Had  I  the  means  of  tracing  out  genealogies  and  intermar- 
riages, and  changes  of  names  generally,  as  I  have  in  a  few  cases; 
and  were  lists  of  the  early  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
accessible,  it  could  doubtless  l)e  shown  that  not  a  few  of  the  de- 
scendants of  tlie  old  stock  stood  true  in  devotion  to  the  tried  and 
apostolic  faith  of  the  early  German,  Welch,  Swiss,  Huguenot, 
and  Scotch-Covenanter  colonists.  The  names  of  the  descend- 
ants of  the  following  are  still  recognized  in  the  church  in  Isew 
Bern,  or  its  vicinity,  as  substantial  Presbyterians :  Isler,  Cox- 
daille  (from  whom,  on  the  mother's  side,  come  the  Stanlys), 
Francks,  Bryan,  Bray,  Watson,  Hatch,  Clark,  Everett,  Noble, 
Shine,  Jones,  Moore,  Lamb,  and  others.  Hence  came  one  of 
the  original  elders,  the  wife  of  the  present  pastor,  and  the  wife 
of  one  of  the  present  ruling  elders,  and  one,  if  not  more,  of  the 
original  female  members  from  the  French  Blanchard  stock. 

In  the  dreadful  Indian  massacre  of  September,  1711,  Martin 
says  that  most  of  the  Swiss  and  Palatines,  who  had  flattered 
themselves  with  having  found  in  the  deserts  of  Craven  a  safe 
asylum  against  distress  and  oppression,  and  all  of  the  Hugue- 
nots around  Bath,  fell  under  the  tomahawk  or  knife.  Sixty 
or  more  were  murdered  around  New  Bern.  The  Indians  do 
not  seem  to  have  gotten  into  the  town.  This  stunning  carnage 
and  the  Indian  war  which  ensued,  together  with  other  grievous 
colonial  difficulties,  caused  a  large  exodus  from  the  colony.  In 
1717,  it  is  thought  that  there  remained  only  2,000  taxables 
(all  freemen  of  sixteen  years  were  taxable),  and  one-third  of 


72  NEW  BERN. 

these  were  slaves.  Still  there  are  many  representative  names- 
of  this  era  in  this  section.  It  should  be  remembered  that  De 
Graffenried,  while  a  prisoner  among  the  Tuscaroras,  just  before 
the  massacre  began,  effected  an  advantageous  treaty  with  the 
Indians,  which  protected  his  Palatines  in  many  ways. 

Hem  Bern  iJnta^ 

On  account  of  the  increase  of  population  southward,  and  the 
inconvenience  of  crossing  Albemarle  Sound  to  Edenton,  the 
General  Assembly,  6th  March,  1738,  met  in  New  Bern,  and 
continued  its  sessions  there  for  years.  It  soon  became  the  es- 
tablished place  for  meeting  of  the  various  courts. 

3^irst  Printittg  Press. 

In  1749,  James  Davis,  from  Virginia,  established  in  'New 
Bern  the  Jirsi  printing  2^''<^ss  in  iSTorth  Carolina.  The  laws 
hitherto  had  been  only  in  manuscript,  and  much  confusion  had 
resulted.  After  careful  revision  by  the  Legislature,  they  were 
printed,  in  1752,  by  James  Davis,  and  bound  in  a  small  folio 
volume,  in  yellowish  and  unskilfully  tanned  leather,  hence  al- 
ways known  as  "  Yellow  Jacket."  This  was  the  first  book 
printed  in  North  Carolina.  In  1764,  the  laws  were  printed  by 
Andrew  Stewart,  a  Scotchman  in  Wilmington,  on  a  press  he 
set  up  there.  Mr.  Davis  then  issued,  1st  June,  1764,  in  New 
Bern,  "  The  North  Carolina  Magazine^  or  Universal  Intelli- 
■gencer^''  the  first  periodical  paper  attempted  in  the  province. 
It  was  a  demi-sheet,  in  quarto  pages,  and  for  a  long  time  very 
dry.  His  printing  office  was  on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  East 
Front  streets,  where  a  gentleman  and  lady  inform  me  they  have 
in  recent  years  picked  up  the  old  type.  I  have  before  me  a 
bound  volume  of  this  paper,  beginning  with  No.  383,  July  4, 
1777.     Its  headlines  are  as  follows  in  1777: 


RKVOLUTIONARY  PRIVATEERS.  73 

July  4,  1777.  THE  Number  383. 

NORTH.CAROLINA  GAZETTE, 

With  the  lateft  ADVICE^,  Foreign  and  Domestic. 

SEMPER    PRO    LIBERTATE    ET   BONO    PUBLICO. 

It  contains  interesting  accounts  of  the 

Fitted  out  bj  r/r;///i  ^y right  St<inU/ irom  this  port.  ^^  Sturdy 
Beggar,''''  with  fourteen  can-iage  guns  and  one  hundred  men, 
was  the  significant  name  of  one,  whicli  rej3oi-ts  two  pi'izes, 
worth  £70,000  sterHng.  Others  are  also  mentioned  :  tlie  Nancy , 
Capt.  Pahner ;  the  sloop  Ly</i<i,  Capt.  Appleton,  witli  twelve 
guns  and  fift_y  men  ;  the  Belloixi,  Capt.  Pendleton,  with  sixteen 
guns — all  report  large  captures  for  Mr.  Staidy,  and  the  Bellona 
brought  in  also  a  privateer  with  six  guns.  The  Lydia  was  af- 
terwards captured.  Manv  cargoes  of  salt  and  di-y-goods,  that 
had  run  the  blockade,  are  advgi-tised  for  sale  in  N'ew  Bern  and 
Beaufort.  In  July,  1777,  a  number  of  Scotch  gentlemen,, 
being  unwilling  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  sailed  from  Xew 
Bern.  But  when  outside  the  Ca])es,  they  were  overhauled  by 
a  Virginia  privateer,  and  captured  with  all  their  wealth,  and 
two  hundred  hogsheads  of  tobacco. 

Capt.  Charles  Biddle's  autobiography  preserves  some  inter- 
esting facts  of  this  period.  lie  was  from  Philadelphia,  but 
married  Miss  Hannah  Shepard,the  daughter  of  Jacob  Shepard, 
a  New  Bern  merchant.  In  September,  1778,  the  ship  Coriid'Hi, 
with  six  iron  and  fourteen  wooden  guns  and  seventy  men,  was 
fitted  out  in  Xew  Bern  for  a  trading  voyage  to  the  AVest  Indies, 
and  sailed  under  Capt.  Biddle's  command.  Off  Cape  Lookout 
5 


74:  NEW  BEKN. 

he  took  a  privateer  with  eight  guns  and  fifty  men,  and  sent  it  in 
to  Beaufort,  He  made  a  safe  voyage  to  tlie  Island  of  St.  Eus- 
tatia,  sold  his  cargo  well,  and  took  on  a  valuable  one;  bought 
a  pair  of  six-pounders  there,  and  in  eight  weeks,  on  November 
16th,  cast  anchor  successfully  in  Beaufort  Harbor.  In  her  next 
voyage,  under  Capt.  Cook,  the  Cornelia  was  captured  by  a  Provi- 
dence privateer.  Mr.  Biddle  made  a  successful  run  to  the  West 
Indies  in  ^'The  Three  Sisters,^^  and  made  Beaufort  Harbor  on 
the  return.  In  August,  1779,  he  made  another  good  run  to  St. 
Thomas  with  the  Eclipse^  loaded  with  tobacco,  and  returned 
20th  September. 

When  he  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  in  session  in  New 
Bern,  in  1779,  at  dinner  one  day  at  Governor  Nash's,  it  was 
reported  that  a  British  privateer  was  within  the  bar  of  the 
Neuse,  and  doing  much  mischief.  Capt.  Biddle  proposed  to  fit 
out  some  vessels  at  the  wharf,  and  capture  her.  Many  gen- 
tlemen at  the  table  offered  to  go  with  him.  By  four  o'clock 
the  next  day  all  was  ready,  and  the  gentlemen  were  notified, 
but  all  made  excuses,  except  Mr.  Spaight  and  Mr.  Blackledge. 
^'Some  were  sick,  others  had  particular  business;  one  of  them, 
who  had  always  behaved  like  a  brute  to  his  wife,  sent  me  word 
she  would  not  consent  to  his  going.  He  was  the  only  one  I 
sent  a  second  time  to,  and  tbat  was  to  inform  him  that  I  would 
call  up  and  endeavor  to  persuade  his  wife  to  let  him  go.  Fear- 
ing that  I  would,  and  knowing  that  his  wife  would  readily  con- 
sent to  his  going  anywhere,  so  that  she  was  rid  of  him,  he  rode 
out  of  .town."  He  had  several  times  beat  her,  and  she  detested 
the  sight  of  him.  This  expedition  lasted  two  wrecks;  but 
the  privateer  got  wind  of  the  plan,  and  made  her  escape  to 
sea. 

In  1761,  was  passed  the  first  eft'ective  act  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  literature,  by  the  erection  of  a  school-house  in  New 
Bern.  This  school  was  incorporated  in  1766 — the  first  incur- 
porated  academy  in  North  Carolina.  It  rested  for  some  years 
under  the  incubus  imposed  by    the  established  ecclesiastical 


MEMOKABLE  ITEMS.  75 

*' oligarchy,"*  prohibiting  any  Principal  save  a  "churchman." 
The  tirst  "large  and  conimodions  building,"  erected  at  great 
expense,  was  burned  down  accidentally  in  1795,  when,  by  an 
act  of  Assembly,  a  room  in  the  "  Palace  "  was  used  for  the  school- 
room. The  present  old  brick  academy  was  erected  in  1806; 
the  corner  stone  of  the  additional  elegant  graded  school  build- 
ing was  laid  in  1884,  just  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  after 
the  lirst  act  of  the  Legislature  already  mentioned.  In  that  older 
building,  Gaston,  Stanly,  Badger,  Spaight,  Hawks  and  many 
other  distinguislied  sons  of  Carolina  were  educated  for  future 
careers  of  honor  and  usefulness. 

Tliis  old  square,  two  storied  brick  academy  has  had  intimate 
connection  with  the  etablishment  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
here.  The  first  building  was  of  wood ;  in  it  the  lower  house 
of  the  Legislature  sometimes  met.t 

lltiMnorabfe  5tetn$. 

The  first  political  representative  assembly  ever  convened  in 
North  Carolina,  independent  of  royal  authority,  and  indeed  in 
face  of  the  Governor's  prohibition,  met  25tli  August,  1774,  in 
New  Bern.  It  is  known  as  the  '"  l^t'ovivcidl  Co7t(/ress.^^  It  in- 
quired into  the  the  encroaclnnents  of  England  upon  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  America;  recommended  holding  a  Continen- 
tal Congress  in  Philadelphia,  20th  September,  and  appointed 
William  Hooper,  Joseph  Hews  and  Richard  Caswell  deputies 
thereto. 

The  first  "General  Assembly"  of  the  State,  under  the  con- 
stitution adopted  at  Halifax  by  the  Provincial  Congress,  18th 
December,  1776,  met  in  New  Bern  in  April,  1777. 

Governor  Martin  became  greatly  disturbed  by  the  daring 
conduct  of  the  people,  and  the  gathering  storm  of  revolution, 
and  began  to  fortify  the  palace,  and  arranged  for  a  military 

♦Bancroft,  Vol.  iii.  pp.  13,  14,  says,  "Those  styled  'the  nobility,'  together 
with  the  High  Church  party,  constituted  a  colonial  oligarchy  against  the  great 
mafis  of  the  people."  "  The  larger  part  of  the  settlers  were  DiKseuters,  bring- 
ing with  them  the  faith  and  the  staid  sobriety  of  the  Calvinists  of  that  age." 

t  Martin,  ii.  3'J5. 


76  NEW  BERN. 

body-guard.  An  intercepted  letter  of  liis  to  General  Gage,  at 
Boston,  revealed  his  plans,  and  precipitated  a  breach.  On 
24:th  April,  1775,  while  the  governor  and  council  were  in  ses- 
sion, alarm  having  spread  among  the  New  Bernians  at  the 
Governor's  proceedings,  leading  whigs,  among  whom  were  Dr. 
Alexander  Gaston,  Richard  Cogdell,  James  Coor,  and  Jones 
Slates,  seized  and  removed  the  six  pieces  of  cannon  that  had  been 
planted  in  front  of  the  Palace.  That  night  Governor  Martin 
fled  from  New  Bern  to  Fort  Johnston,  near  Wilmington,  and 
soon  joined  Lord  Cornwallis.  So  ended  English  sway  in  North 
Carolina.  At  this  time  the  population  of  New  Bern,  the 
largest  of  the  only  three  towns  in  the  State, — Wilmington  and 
Edenton  beinii;  the  other  two, — was  al)out  six  hundred. 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES. 


THE  Quakers,  their  early  appearance  in  Albemarle,  their 
rapid  increase,  and  their  usefulness  in  moral  and  reli- 
gious affairs,  have  been  already  sufKciently  spoken  of. 

^l\t  episcopal  Cftuicit* 

No  Episcopal  Church  was  built  in  the  colony  l)efore  1702,  and 
the  increase  was  slow.  In  1703  we  hear  of  the  first  settled 
preacher,  and  he  did  not  tarry  long.  In  1740  an  act  was  passed  by 
the  Legislature  for  building  an  Episcopal  church  in  New  Bern. 
Why  did  the  Lecjhlature  provide  for  building  churches  for  only 
one  denomination,  if  there  was  nothing  like  a  State  Estal)lish- 
ment  ?  It  has  been  thought  that  the  bricks  for  this  old  church 
were  brought  from  England.  But  this  act  states  that  during 
the  preceding  year  the  vestry  had  made  100,000  bricks  for  the 
church.  It  does  not  appear  when  this  vestry  was  chosen;  but 
it  must  have  been  under  the  act  of  1715.  B}'  the  act  of  1741, 
we  learn  that  the  vestry  had  laid  a  tax  to  support  a  minister, 
though  one  had  not  been  obtained;  also,  that  Craven  County 
was  nuvde  a  parish,  witli  the  name  of  "Christ  Churcli  Parish." 
Further  legislation  was  had  in  1745  and  1751  upon  the  same 
matter.  In  1754,  an  act  was  passed  confirming  an  agreement 
between  the  vestry  and  Kev.  James  Reed  for  his  services.  A 
letter  was  forwarded  by  the  vestry  of  Christ  Church,  New 
Bern,  in  1760,  to  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel, in  which  it  is  said  that  Mr.  Reed  had  faithfully  attended 
Christ  Church  and  eight  chapels  for  six  years.  So  he  must 
have  settled  in  New  Bern  in  1754;  and  the  church  edifice  was 
probably  completed  not  long  before  that  date.  He  was  the 
first  incumbent  of  this  church,  and  his  connnissiou  is  said  to 


78  EARLIEST  CHURCHES. 

have  been  signed  by  Governor  Tryon  and  Lord  Howe.  He 
was  known  and  respected  as  "Parson  Reed."  Like  tlie  Esta- 
blished clergy  generally  at  the  time  of  the  Kevolution,  he 
was  a  decided  royalist ;  and  tradition  tells  how  he  persisted  in 
praying  for  "his  King  George"  among  the  rebels.  Bnt  his 
devotions  were  not  nninterrnpted ;  for  the  lads  of  the  congre- 
gation, prompted  by  their  parents,  at  the  moment  "the  royal- 
ist parson"  began  the  offensive  petition,  would  vehemently 
beat  the  drum  at  the  cliurch  door,  and  shout,  "Off  with  his 
head ! " 

During  the  Revolutionary  contest.  Episcopal  congregations 
in  this  State  were  generally  disintegrated ;  for  their  clei-gy,  be- 
ing mostly  of  English  birth  and  sympathy,  and  deprived  of 
support,  I'eturned  home.  Some,  however,  proved  faithful,  and 
continued  their  sacred  offices.  These  were  Rev.  Messrs.  Petti- 
grew,  Cuppels,  Blount  and  Micklejohn ;  perhaps,  also,  Rev. 
Mr.  Taylor,  in  Halifax.  For  years  after  the  war  they  were 
few,  feeble  and  despondent.  About  1790,  Dr.  Hailing,  of  New 
Bern,  was  ordained  by  Bishop  Madison  of  Virginia;  and 
in  May,  1794,  Rev.  Charles  Pettigrevv  was  elected,  at  a 
convention  in  Tarboro,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  North 
Carolina;  but  he  was  never  inducted  into  that  office.  For 
twenty-three  years — from  1794  to  1817 — all  was  dark  and 
dreary,  and  no  cheering  star  appeared  to  relieve  the  gloom  op- 
pressing this  Church.  Then  Rev.  Messrs.  Adam  Empie  and 
Bethel  Judd,  "  two  heaven-sent  heralds  of  the  everlasting  Gos- 
pel," came  to  Wilmington  and  Fayetteville,  and  there  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  restoration  of  the  Episcopal  Church  and 
cause  in  North  Carolina.  Since  that  period,  this  denomination 
of  Christians  has  greatly  grown  in  numbers.  Rev.  John  Stark 
Ravenscroft,  of  Virginia,  was  consecrated  the  first  Bishop  of 
North  Carolina,  23d  May,  1823.  In  1822,  there  were  only 
nine  Episcopal  ministers  in  the  diocese.  One  of  these  was 
Rev.  Richard  S.  Mason,  then  in  New  Bern.  The  records  of 
Christ  Churcli  were  burned  up  in  1818.  The  oldest  record  on 
their  present  parish  register  is  dated  May  4th,  1818,  in  Dr. 
Mason's  hand-writing. 


WHITEFIELD.  79 

Rev,  George  AVhitefield  arrived  in  New  Bern  on  Christmas 
Eve,  1789.  He  received  the  sacrament — from  whom  I  cannot 
discover — and  preached  on  Christmas  day,  with  his  woiidrons 
eloquence,  in  the  Court-house.  ''Most  of  the  congregation  was 
melted  to  tears.  Here  he  was  grieved  to  see  the  minister 
encouraging  dancing,  and  to  iiud  a  dancing-master  in  every  lit- 
tle town.  "Such  sinful  entertainments,"  he  said,  "enervate  the 
minds  of  the  people,  and  insensibly  lead  them  into  effeminacy 
and  ruin."  In  November,  1TG4,  he  was  again  here,  and  spent 
the  Sabbath.  From  New  Brunswick, Carolina, he  writes:  "At 
New  Bern,  last  Sunday,  good  impressions  were  made.  From 
that  place  to  this,  I  have  met  with  what  the)'  call  New  Lights. 
Almost  ever  J/  stage  I  have  the  navies  of  six  or  eight  of  their 
preachers.  This,  with  every  other  place  being  open,  and  ex- 
ceedingh'  desirous  to  liear  the  Gospel,  makes  me  almost  deter- 
mined to  come  back  early  in  the  Spring," 

lUetltoCkists, 

The  first  Methodist  preacher  in  North  Carolina  was  James 
Pilmoor,  in  1772;  the  first  circuit  was  formed  by  Robert  Wil- 
liams, in  1773;  and  the  first  conference  was  held  near  Louis- 
burg,  20tli  April,  1786,  at  which  were  present  Bishops  Asbury 
and  Coke.  New  Bern  was  soon  in  a  district,  and  visited.  From 
1785  to  1807,  there  preached  here  Bishops  Asbury  and  White- 
coat;  Jonathan  Jackson  and  Reuben  Ellis,  presiding  elders; 
Philip  Bruce,  or  De  Bruise,  of  Huguenot  descent,  and  perhaps 
from  the  flock  of  Jiichehourg  on  the  Trent;  and  C.  S.  Moor- 
ing, who  served  New  Bern  in  1801,  In  1803,  many  large 
camp-meetings  were  held  in  the  New  Bern  district,  with  signal 
blessing.  Like  those  great  Presbyterian  protracted  services 
and  communions  held  amid  the  quiet  forests,  where  popula- 
tion is  scattered  and  the  means  of  grace  are  limited,  these  ex- 
traordinary meetings  proved  valuable  in  saving  souls  and  build- 
ing up  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  These  great  sacramental  ser- 
vices— after  Scotch  and  Irish  customs — were  first  established 


80 


EARLIEST  CHURCHES. 


and  maintained  by  the  Presbyterians  for  the  sparse  population 
in  Western  Carolina.  The  illustration  gives  a  vivid  idea  of 
the  meetings.  In  Rev.  Mr.  Plurd's  pastorate,  we  will  see  that 
he  engaged  here  in  these  protracted  services. 

"Not  to  the  dome,  where  crumbHug  arch  aud  column 
Attest  the  feebleness  of  mortal  hand, 
But  to  the  fane,  most  catholic  and  solemn, 
Which  God  hath  planned." 


A  COMMUNIOX  GATHERING  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME. 


Andrew  Chapel,  on  Hancock  Street,  was  the  second  church 
built  in  New  Bern,  and  dates  from  the  beginning  of  this  cen- 
tury. It  has  been  long  occupied  by  the  colored  Methodists. 
The  new  Methodist  sanctuary  on  Neuse  Street  has  been  re- 
<5ently  handsomely  enlarged  and  relitted,  and  gathers  there  the 
largest  congregation  in  the  city.  This  denomination  has  grown 
wonderfully  in  the  State,  and  is  doing  a  great  and  good  work 
for  the  Master. 


BAPTISTS.  81 

Baptists. 

At  an  early  date  a  few  Baptists  were  about  New  Bern,  hut 
without  organization.  This  is  manifest  from  a  curious  record, 
which  I  have  taken  from  the  original  Minutes  of  the  June 
Court,  in  Craven  County,  174:0.  In  the  hound  manuscript  is  a 
duplicate  record,  with  some  differences.  Court  being  in  session 
on  Thursday  afternoon,  19tli  June,  the  following  Minute  occurs: 

"Read  a  petition  of  the  people  who  call  themselves  first  day 
anabaptists     Refered  till  to-morrow  that  the  law  he  produced." 

In  the  above,  before  the  last  sentence,  appear  the  words  "  it's 
granted  so  far  as  the  act  of  Toleration  b}'^  law  will  allow;"  but 
they  are  erased  by  having  a  line  drawn  through  them.  The 
Justices  present  were  George  Roberts,  Daniel  Shine,  Thomas 
Masters,  John  Bryan,  and  Joseph  Hanniss. 

On  June  20th,  174:0,  Esquires  present,  George  Roberts,  John 
Brj'an,  James  Macklwaine,  Thomas  Pearson. 

"  a  motion  and  petition  read  made  by  a  sect  of  decenting 
people  called  Baptists  that  they  may  have  the  Liberty  to  build 
a  house  of  worship  and  being  duely  examined  by  the  Court 
acknowledged  to  all  the  Articles  of  the  church  of  England 
except  part  of  the  27th  and  36th  they  Desireing  to  Preach 
among  themselves — Referr'^ — "  -' 

Just  before  the  last  word,  two  words  are  blotted  out.  They 
seem  to  be  "  but  Rejected."  Then  follows  a  copy  of  their  names, 
and  recognizances  to  appear  at  next  September  Court;  but  this 
is  crossed  over.  The  clear  second  minute  for  Friday,  3  P.  M., 
20th  June,  is  as  follows : 

f      George  Roberts        '] 

II  v)  i.  John  Bryan  -r, 

"Present  /       .  I    Esqrs 

I    James  Macklwaine 

[        Thos.  Pearson         J 

*'  A  Motion  and  Petition  Read  by  y*"  sect  of  decenting  people 


♦These  quotntious,  aud  others  elsewhere,  are  given  without  correction,  in 
their  original  dress. 


82  EARLIEST  CHURCHES. 

which  call  themselves  Babtists  prays  that  they  may  be  admitted 
to  build  a  House  of  Worship  Reefs  Price  William  Caruthers 
and  John  Bryan  Esq  made  oath  to  several  misdemeaners  com- 
mitted by  the  s'^  Petitioners  contrary  to  and  in  contempt  of  the 
laws  now  in  force  upon  which  it  was  ordered  by  this  court  the 
s'^  Petitioners  be  bound  by  Recognizance  for  their  appearance 
at  the  next  court  of  assize  and  Goale  delivery  to  be  held  at  this 
Town  then  and  tliere  to  answer  to  such  things  as  they  shall  be 
charged  with  and  in  the  meantime  be  of  Good  behaviour  to  all 
his  Majesties  Liege  People." 

"John  James  came  into  open  court  and  acknowledged  him- 
self to  be  Indebted  to  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King  in  tlie  sum  of 
40X  Sterl  money  William  Fulsher  and  Frances  ayers  also 
acknowledged  themslves  to  be  Indebted  to  our  Sovereign  Lord 
the  King  in  the  sum  of  20X  Sterl  money  each  security  for 
his  appearance  at  the  next  court  of  assize  and  Goale  Delivery 
to  be  held  at  tiiis  Town  of  Newliern.  the  several  sums  to  be 
Levied  on  these  Several  Goods  and  Chatties  Lands  and  Tene- 
ments &ca  " 

Similar  bonds  were  given  by  William  Fulsher,  Francis 
Ayers,  Lemuel  Harvey,  Nicholas  Purify,  and  John  Brooks ;  the 
securities  being  divided  mutually  among  .themselves. 

September  Court  convened  in  New  Bern  on  Tuesday,  16th 
September,  1740.  On  22d  inst.  there  were  present:  Justices 
Geo.  Roberts,  John  Powel,  Jos.  Hannis,  John  Fonville,  John 
Simons,  and  John  Bryan.  After  an  hour's  adjournment  the 
body  reassembled.  Present:  Justices  Geo.  Roberts,  John 
Powel  and  John  Simons. 

"After  Proclamation  made 

Read  the  Petition  of  Several  De- 
senting  protestants  called  Baptists  in  these  words  vitz  pray- 
ing the  benefit  of  the  act  commonl3'  called  the  act  of  Tolera- 
tion— Granted — " 

"The  following  Desenting  Protestants  appeared  vitz  John 
Brooks    John    James    Robt    Spring    Nich    Purify   and   Tho& 


BAPTISTS.  83 

Fulclier  came  into  court  and  took  the  Oatlies  of  alegiance  and 
Supremacy  and  Subscribed  to  the  Tests  and  the  thirty-Nine  ar- 
ticles of  Religon  being  distinctly  Read  to  them  the  following 
of  which  they  desented  from  to-wit  tlie  Thirty-Sixth  and  the 
latter  part  of  Twenty-Seventh" 

The  Test. 
"I,  A:  B  do  Declare  that  I  do  believe  that  there  is  not  any 
Transubstantiation  in  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  or 
in  the  Elements  of  Bread  and  Wine  at  or  after  the  Consecration 
thereof  by  any  person  whatsoever.'' 

It  is  further  claimed  by  eminent  citizens  of  New  Bern  that 
there  was  a  record,  which  has  mysteriously  disappeared  from 
the  Clerk's  Office,  which  certified  that  certain  persons,  viz., 
Messi'S.  Brinson,  Fnlshire  and  Purifoy,  were  indicted  for  hold- 
ing to  the  "-Biipt'ist  fa'dh^''  and  were  wliipped,  and  imprisoned 
for  three  m.onths  in  Craven  County  jail.  One  gentleman  pro- 
poses to  make  affidavit  to  the  fact  that  he  read  that  record, 
shown  to  him  by  the  Clerk,  Mr.  James  Stanly. 

These  acts  of  the  Court  are  fully  explained  by  reference  to 
English  history.  The  Oath  of  Allegiance  Avas  framed  upon  the 
discovery  of  Guy  Faux's  Gunpowder  Plot,  in  the  reign  of 
James  I,  Tlie  Test  Act  was  passed  in  1663,  under  Charles  II. 
It  included  the  Oaths  of  Uniformity,  Supremacy,  and  Transub- 
stantiation. It  was  only  finally  abolished  by  the  Belief  Acts 
of  1828  and  1829,  in  George  IV. 's  reign.  There  were  several 
Acts  of  Uniformity,  designed  to  assimilate  all  Dissenters  witli 
the  Estal)lished  Church ;  but  the  crowning  one  was  that  of 
1662,  by  which  2,000  godly  Presbyterian  Clergy  were  expelled 
from  their  rightful  livings.  As  these  sweeping  Acts  could  be 
pretty  generally  applied,  tliey  involved  many  painful  disabili- 
ties and  shameful  persecutions.  But  though  not  formally  re- 
pealed, they  were  beneficently  modified  by  the  Act  of  Tolera- 
tion, under  William  and  Mary,  24th  May,  1689.  This  was  the 
Great  Charter  of  Religious  Liberty,  though  it  left  persecution  the 
rule,  and  toleration  the  exception.     Its  provisions  were  an  in- 


84  EARLIEST  CHURCHES. 

consistent  and  cumbrous  chaos,  if  scientifically  measured,  and 
failed  to  recognize  the  sound  principle  of  religious  liberty;  yet 
it  was  a  practical,  remedial,  successful  measure  that  stopped 
bloody  persecution,  heralded  substantial  peace  to  a  disturbed 
empire,  and  won  support  alike  from  Bates  and  Baxter,  Ken 
and  Sherlock,  Burnet  and  Nottingham,  Subscription  to  the 
Thirty-Nine  Articles  in  the  Universities  was  only  abolished  by 
the  University  Tests'  Act  of  1871,  except  for  divinity  students, 
fellows,  professors  and  heads  of  colleges. 

All  these  laws  prevailed  in  North  Carolina.  Any  place  of 
religious  meeting  for  a  Dissenting  Congregation  must  necessa- 
rily be  by  permission  of  the  Supreme  Ecclesiastical  Authority, 
or  by  the  recorded  act  of  the  Court  of  General  or  Quarter  Ses- 
sions ;  and  the  applicants  were  entitled  to  a  certificate  for  the 
sum  of  sixpence.*  Therefore  the  application  of  the  Baptists 
came  properly  before  Craven  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions.  What 
violations  of  the  law  these  persons  may  have  been  guilty  of  does 
not  appear.  But  if  they  had  been  holding  services  without 
complying  with  the  Act  of  Toleration,  they  were  properly  re- 
quired to  give  recognizances,  and  there  was  no  unseemly  usage 
under  the  law.  As  this  incident  has  not  been  understood,  it 
seems  advisable  to  endeavor  to  clear  it  from  its  obscurity;  for 
the  County  Court  does  not  appear  to  desire  to  restrain  religious 
freedom,  seeing  that,  as  previously  stated,  the  same  Court  in 
December  following  readily  granted  permission  to  the  German 
Palatines  to  build  a  chapel. 

Not  until  1812,  however,  do  we  hear  of  a  Baptist  Meeting- 
House  in  New  Bern,  when  the  old  Church  near  Cedar  Grove 
Cemetery  was  built.  The  late  Zaccheus  Slade,  an  honored  Baptist 
deacon,  when  a  boy  drove  the  oxen  that  hauled  the  lumber  for 
this  house.  For  years  this  was  the  gloomy  Baptist  home ;  and  it 
was  also  closely  associated  with  Presbyterian  progress  through 

*  See  Maoaulay'B  History  of  England,  Vol.  I.  208  ;  Vol.  III.  G4,  &c. ;  Neal's 
Puritaus,  Vol.  I.  76  and  245;  II.  278,  345,  483,  505;  Schafif's  Creeds,  I.  GlO ; 
Schaff-Herzog  Cyclopiedia,  "Articles,"  '"Test  Act,"  "Uniformity;"  Green's 
Hist.  Eng.  People,  IV.  413,   V.  61;  Burnet's  Own  Time,  I.  171,  &c.;  II.  6, 


EARLIER  BAPTIST  CHURCHES.  85 

the  Christian  kindness  of  its  owners.  Their  first  and  highly 
esteemed  pastor  was  Rev.  Thomas  Meredith.  After  some  years 
they  huilt  their  present  commodious  and  beautiful  Church  on 
Craven  Street,  where  regularly  gathers  their  increased  and 
vigorous  membership.  Services  were  inaugurated  in  this  build- 
ing on  Sunday,  2d  July,  1848,  when  the  pastor,  llev.  M.  R. 
Forey,  preached  the  dedicatory  sermon. 

iEarlior  Baptist  Churches** 

According  to  the  most  reliable  information  accessible,  the 
first  Baptist  Church  in  Eastern  North  Carolina  was  formed  by 
Paul  Palmer,  with  thirty-two  members,  in  Perquimons  County, 
in  1727.  The  next  was  at  Shiloh,  Pasquotank  Count}',  in  1729. 
Meherrin,  now  Murfreesboro  Church,  followed  in  1735,  and 
Kehukee,  in  Halifax  County,  in  1742.  At  the  last  named 
church,  in  1765,  was  organized  the  famed  Kehukee  Associa- 
tion, embracing  seven  churches  with  twelve  ministers.  Very 
soon  this  Association  embraced  the  whole  Baptist  strength  in 
Eastern  North  Carolina;  and  their  standpoint  of  doctrine  and 
organization  was  that  still  occupied  by  the  Old  School  or  Prim- 
itive Baptists.  A  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution 
the  first  statistics  of  the  Baptists  in  North  Carolina  gave  them 
ninety-four  churches,  eighty-five  ministers,  and  seventy-six 
licentiates. 

(Otfti^t  Cft^tcft^^s* 

It  may  be  here  added,  that  the  Roman  Catholics  have  in 
New  Bern  a  small,  neat  chapel.  Their  worsliip  was  formerly 
conducted  in  tlie  house  of  Judge  Gaston,  their  membersliip 
being  small.  Here,  in  1822,  Hon.  Stephen  Miller  witnessed 
the  services  on  one  Sabbath.  About  the  same  period  the  Papal 
Bishop  England  preaclied  in  the  Courthouse,  and  also  in  the 
Presbyterian  Cliurch  here. 

Among  the  negro  population  there  are  flourishing  Methodist, 
Presbyterian,  Baptist  and  Episcopal  Churches. 

*  Wheeler's  Reminiscences,  «tc.,  §  3,  xxviii ;  Letters  of  Rev  S.  Hassell, 
A.  M.  ;  Moore's  Hist.  N.  C.  ;  N.  C.  Baptist  Almanac,  1883. 


NEW  BERN  IN  1798. 


MORSE,  in  1792,  says :  "  New  Bern  is  the  largest  town  in 
the  State — contains  about  400  houses,  all  built  of  wood 
excepting  the  palace,  the  church,  the  gaol,  and  two  dwelling- 
houses,  which  are  of  brick.  The  Episcopal  church  is  a  small  brick 
building,  with  a  bell.  It  is  the  only  house  for  public  worship  in 
the  place.    A  rum  distillery  has  been  lately  erected  in  this  town. 

Itis  the  county  town  of  Craven  County The  court-house  is 

raised  on  brick  arches,  so  as  to  render  the  lower  part  a  con- 
venient market-place ;  but  the  principal  marketing  is  done  with 
the  people  in  their  canoes  and  boats  at  the  river  side."  In  his 
American  Gazetteer^  Boston,  1798,  he  adds:  "In  September, 
1791,  near  one-third  of  the  town  was  consumed  by  fire.  It  car- 
ries on  a  considerable  trade  to  the  West  Indies  and  the  different 
States,  in  tar,  pitch,  turpentine,  lumber,  corn,  etc.  The  exports 
in  1794  amounted  to  $69,615." 

A  large  cypress  tree  stands  near  an  old  wharf  on  the  Keuse, 
on  the  premises  of  Mr.  Samuel  Smallwood,  but  originally  the 
property  of  the  Spaights.  Under  this  monarch,  tradition  says 
that  the  first  vessel  in  North  Carolina  was  built.  Under  its 
shade  have  stood  General  Washington.  General  Nath.  Greene 
during  trying  times  to  his  command,  John  Wright  Stanly,  who 
lost  fourteen  vessels  during  the  Bevolution,*  the  Spaights,  Hon. 
Edward  Everett,  and  many  of  the  noblest  of  men. 

Further  down  the  Neuse,  where  it  joins  the  Trent,  grew  two 
live  oaks,  until  destroyed  in  the  desolating  fire  of  April,  1841. 
Undei'  these  De  Grafifenried  and  Mitchell  met  the  native  Indians 
and  made  a  treaty,  when  New  Bern  was  commenced,  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  years  ago.  On  the  grounds  of  the  Epis- 
copal church  a  venerable  hickory  rears  its  noble  proportions,  and 

*  Another  statement  is  that  the  firm  Turner  &  Stanly  lost  thirty  vessels. 


TWO  OLD  ACCOUNTS.  87 

■dates  back  to  the  stirring  days,  when  the  original  colonists  re- 
-clined  beneath  its  friendly  shelter.  At  t]ie  corner  of  these 
premises  is  planted,  half-way  in  the  ground,  the  "Lady  Bless- 
ington  Cannon,"  whicli  was  presented  to  a  British  cruiser  by 
Her  Ladyship,  but  was  captured  by  one  of  Mr.  Stanly's  priva- 
teers, and  brought  hither. 

Ship-building  was  carried  on  extensively  here  at  this  epoch. 
The  whole  of  a  vessel's  e(i\iipment — (except  its  canvas,) — ropes, 
iron-work  and  timber,  were  of  h(,»me  manufacture,  thus  leaving 
the  wliole  profit  liere.  Wagons  and  boats  distributed  the  im- 
ports to  the  interior  of  the  State,  and  large  fortunes  were  made. 
The  population  must  have  been  about  i^,000. 

^tuo  (OICi  :^ccouut$. 

It  will  be  interesting  to  read  the  accounts  of  two  rare  old 
■writers  about  affairs  in  Eastern  North  Carolina  during  and  just 
after  the  Revolution.  In  '•'•The  American  Geography''^  for 
1792,  which  is  perhaps  almost  identical  with  the  first  issue  in 
1789,  Jedidiah  Morse  says  that  the  western  part  of  tlie  State 
had  been  settled  within  the  past  thirty-five  years  chiefly  by 
Presbyterians,  attached  to  the  worship,  doctrines  and  usages  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland;  tliat  they  were  a  regular,  industrious 
people,  in  general  well  supplied  with  a  sensible  and  learned  min- 
istry. There  were  also  settlements  of  German  Luthei-ans  and 
Calvinists;  Moravians,  Quakers,  Methodists  and  Baptists,  and 
a  numerous  body  of  "  Nothingakians"  as  to  religion.  The 
inhabitants  of  Wilmington,  New  Bern,  Edenton,  and  Halifax 
Districts,  making  about  three-fifths  of  the  State,  once  possessed 
themselves  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  The  clergy  in  these  dis- 
tricts were  chiefly  missionaries,  and  almost  univei'sally  declared 
themselves  in  favor  of  the  British  Government,  and  emigrated. 
There  may  be  one  or  two  of  the  original  clergy  remaining,  but 
at  present  they  have  no  particular  charge.  Indeed,  the  inhabi- 
tants in  the  districts  above-mentioned  seem  now  to  be  making 
the  experiment,  whether  Christianity  can  exist  long  in  a  coun- 
try where  there  is  no  visible  Christian  Church.  Thirteen  years' 
experience  has  proved  that  it  probably  cannot;  for  there  is  very 


88  A  JOURNEY  IN  1777-78. 

little  external  appearance  of  religion  among  the  people  in  gen- 
eral. The  Baptists  and  Methodists  have  sent  a  number  of  mis- 
sionary preachers  into  these  districts,  and  some  of  them  have 

pretty  large  congregations In  the  lower  districts  the 

inhabitants  have  very  few  places  for  public  and  weekly  worship 
of  any  kind  ;  and  these  few,  being  destitute  of  ministers,  are  suf- 
fered to  stand  neglected.  The  brick  Episcopal  Church  in  Eden- 
ton  has  for  many  years  been  much  neglected,  and  serves  only  to 
show  that  the  people  once  had  a  regard,  at  least,  for  the  ex- 
ternals oi  religion.  "The  Sabbath  .  .  .  is  generally  disregarded, 
or  distinguished  by  the  convivial  visitings  of  the  white  inhabi- 
tants, and  the  noisy  diversions  of  the  negroes."  Temperance 
and  industry  were  not  reckoned  among  the  virtues  of  North 
Carolinians,  but  gaming,  drinking,  cock-fighting,  horse-racing, 
and  boxing-matches,  made  memorable  by  shameful  feats  of 
gouging  eyes  out  of  tJielr  sockets,  too  commonly  engaged  their 
time,  and  hindered  all  true  progress.  There  was  as  little  taste 
for  the  sciences  as  for  religion.  Still,  Morse  says,  amazing 
progress  in  population  was  made,  and  distinguished  statesmen 
and  patriots,  as  well  as  a  gallant  soldiery,  marked  the  Revolu- 
tionar}'  history  of  North  Carolina. 

lHatson  s  3ourtteij  in  1777-78. 

Mr.  "Watson  was  a  youth  of  nineteen  years  of  age,  in  the 
emplojanent  of  John  Brown,  an  eminent  merchant  of  Provi- 
dence, and  the  founder  of  Brown  University.  He  has  left  a 
valuable  record  of  a  southern  journey  he  made  in  1777-'8.  At 
"Williamsburg,  Va.,  he  associated  himself  with  a  Captain  Har- 
wood,  proceeding  also  to  Charleston.  Passing  by  the  Dismal 
Swamp,  then  dangerously  infested  by  concealed  royalists  and 
runaway  negroes,  they  i-eached  Edenton,  containing  then  one 
hundred  and  thii-ty-five  dwellings  and  a  brick  court-house,  and 
defended  by  two  forts.  TJience  they  traveled  over  a  most  deso- 
late sandy  plain,  with  here  and  there  a  miserable  tar-burner's 
hut,  to  Bath.  Crossing  the  Sound,  they  proceeded  through 
gloomy  sands  and  majestic  pines,  amid  cheerless  and  painful 
silence,  seeing  only  the  timid  deer,  and  a  few  inhabitants,  until 


A  JOl'RNEY  IN  1777-78.  89 

nearly  dark,  when  tliey  reached  the  Neuse.  "  Having  crossed, 
"we  again  mounted  our  liorses  and  proceeded  on  to  New  Bern, 
the  capital  of  North  Carolina,  groping  our  way  in  the  dark, 
along  unknown  roads,  and  drenched  l)y  the  heav}'  rains. 

"On  our  arrival,  excessively  wearied,  and  needing  repose  and 
Bhelter,  we  wandered  in  pursuit  of  quarters,  from  street  to 
street,  and  were  turned  from  tavern  to  tavern,  every  house 
being  filled  by  French  adventurers.     At  one  of  these  taverns, 

kept  by  one  T ,  M'e  were  repulsed  by  the  landlord  with  so 

much  rudeness  as  to  produce  a  severe  quarrel  in  the  piazzi, 
where  we  stood  soliciting  quarters.  New  Bern  was  the  me- 
tropolis of  North  Carolina,  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Neuse  and  Trent  rivers,  and  contained  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dwellings.  It  was  defended  by  a  strong  fort  and  an 
armed  ship.  Previous  to  the  war  it  exported  corn,  naval  stores, 
beeswax,  hams,  and  deer-skins,  to  a  considerable  amount. 

"  The  next  morning  Harwood  proceeded  to  a  barber's  shop 
to  be  shaved.  I  soon  after  started  in  pursuit  of  the  same  bar- 
ber. I  had  not  gone  far  before  I  met  Harwood,  his  pace  some- 
what quickened,  and  with  one  side  only  of  his  face  shaved.  He 
soon  informed  me  tliat  the  barber  had  been  impertinent,  and 
that  lie  had  knocked  him  down,  and  left  him  sprawling  on  the 
floor.  We  agreed  that  to  avoid  troul)le  he  should  push  on,  and 
that  I  should  follow.  He  was  soon  on  the  way  through  the 
streets  of  the  capital  of  Nortli  Carolina,  in  the  ludicrous  pre- 
dicament I  have  described.  I  left  New  Bern  soon  after  upon 
Harwood's  track,  and  crossed  the  Trent  by  a  rope  ferry  seventy 
feet  wide."  The  journey  was  then  through  a  wilderness  of 
pines,  sands  and  swamps,  night  exposure,  and  apprehensions 
of  wild  beasts,  heightened  by  the  sight  of  the  slow-pacing  bear, 
until  it  ended  in  Wilmington. 

Sufh  contemporary  pictures  of  the  physical  and  moral  con- 
dition of  the  country  are  not  attractive,  neither  are  they  sur- 
prising under  the  light  of  the  jireceding  historical  summary. 
But  glorious  possihilities  were  there;  the  substantial  material 
that  awaited  the  moulding  power,  and  could  be,  and  would  soon 
be,  developed  into  noblest  types  of  manhood  and  womanhood. 
6 


TRYON'S  PALACE,  NEW  BERN. 


'IV'TO  sketch  of  New  Bern  would  be  satisfactory,  however 
Jl_  1  brief,  without  some  account  of  this  building,  which  ex- 
ercised so  important  an  influence  on  moral  and  political  af- 
fairs in  the  State. 

Several  acts  of  the  Legislature  were  passed  with  regard  to 
its  erection.  Appropriations  were  obtained  with  great  difli- 
culty.  Policy,  perseverance,  cajolery,  covert  threats,  and  nota- 
bly the  unusual  and  powerful  fascinations  of  the  beautiful  and 
accomplished  Miss  Esther  Wake,  and  the  skilful  manoeuvres 
and  dinners  of  her  sister.  Lady  Tryon,  finally  secured,  in 
two  separate  sums,  fifteen  thousand  pounds,  from  a  province 
scarcely  able  to  raise  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  government. 
"With  school  funds  Governor  Tryon  is  said  to  have  unscrupu- 
lously seized  and  used  in  the  work,  its  cost  is  estimated  at  not 
less  than  $80,000,  Heavj^  and  intolerable  taxation  was  in- 
volved in  all  this,  A  square  of  six  acres  was  condemned  and 
selected,  bounded  by  Eden,  Metcalf  and  Pollock  streets,  and 
Trent  River,  Bricks  and  prepared  material  were  imported 
from  England,  and  John  Hawks,  a  Moor  from  Malta,  who  was 
educated  in  England,  was  employed  on  a  salary  of  $600  as  the 
architect.  The  contract  was  made  9th  January,  1767,  and  the 
Palace  was  completed  October,  1770.  The  original  drawings, 
with  many  details,  such  as  sections  of  the  drawing-room,  chim- 
ney-breasts, etc.,  were  in  possession  of  Rev.  Frances  L.  Hawks, 
D.  D.,  a  New  Bernian,  a  grandson  of  the  architect,  and  the 
rector  of  Calvary  Church,  N.  Y.  From  these  Mr.  B.  J.  Los- 
sing  made  the  pictures  here  given  of  the  Palace  and  the  seal 
and  signatures  to  the  contract,  and  accompanied  them  witli  ex- 
planations in  his  "  Field  Book  of  the  Revolution."  From  this 
source  and  others,  traditions  in  New  Bern,  and  personal  know- 
ledge, are  gathered  the  following  statements: 


TRYOn's  palace,  new  BERN.  91 

The  main  or  centre  bnildins;  is  the  Palace.  By  contract  it 
was  to  he  two  stories  high,  of  brick,  eii;hty-seven  feet  front, 
and  fifty-nine  feet  deep.  The  buihliiig  on  the  right  of  the 
picture  was  the  secretary's  office  and  the  Liundry,  while  that 
on  the  left  served  for  kitchen  and  servants'  hall.  Some  say 
that  the  left  wing  was  the  private  residence  of  the  Governor, 
and  the  right  was  the  laundry  and  servants'  quarters.  Covered 
curved  colonnades,  of  five  columns  each,  connected  wings  and 
Palace.  In  the  main  building  were  the  legislative  halls  and 
public  rooms  for  government  use.  "Between  these  buildings, 
in  front  of  the  Palace,  was  a  handsome  court.  The  rear  of  the 
building  was  finished  in  the  style  of  the  Mansion-House  in  Lon- 
don." Ebenezer  Hazzard,  Postmaster-General  of  the  United 
States,  visited  it  in  1777,  and  says,  "  Upon  entering  the  street- 
door  you  enter  a  hall  in  which  are  four  niches  for  statues." 
Lossing  states  that  the  chimney-breasts  for  the  council  cham- 
ber, dining  hall  and  drawing-room,  and  the  cornices  of  these 
rooms,  were  of  white  marble.  The  chimney-breast  of  the 
council  chamber  was  the  most  elaborate,  being  ornamented  by 
two  Ionic  columns  below,  and  four  columns  with  Composite 
capitals  above,  with  beautiful  entablature,  architrave  and  frieze. 
Over  the  inner  door  of  the  entrance  hall,  or  ante-chamber,  was 
a  tablet  with  a  Latin  inscription,  showing  that  the  Palace  was 
dedicated  to  Sir  William  Draper,  "the  conqueror  of  Manilla;" 
also  the  following  lines,  in  Latin,  which  were  written  by  Draper, 
who  was  then  on  a  visit  to  Governor  Tryon: 

"rEGE  PIO,  FELIX,  DIRIS  INIMICA  TYKANNIS, 
VIRTUTI  HAS  AKDES  LIBERA  TERRA  DEDIT. 
SINT  DOMUS  ET  DOMINUS  8AECLIS  EXEMPLA  FDTURIS, 
HIC  ARTES,  MORES,  JURA,  LEGESQUE  COLANT." 

Judge  Martin  in  his  history  translates  thus: 

"  lu  the  reign  of  a  monarch,  who  goodness  disclos'd, 
A  free  happy  people,  to  dread  tyrants  oppos'd. 
Have,  to  virtue  and  merit,  erected  this  dome  ; 
May  the  owner  and  household  make  this  the  loved  home, 
Where  religion,  the  arts  and  the  laws  may  invite 
Future  agts  to  live,  in  sweet  peace  and  delight." 


92 


TRYON  S  PALACE,  NEW  BERN. 


Judge  Martin  adds  that  the  building  was  superior  to  any- 
thing of  the  kind  in  British  North  America ;  and  that  in  1783 
he  heard  the  renowned  and  unfortunate  Don  Francisco  Miranda, 
when  visiting  the  palace  with  him,  say  it  had  no  equal  in  South 
America.  It  is  said  in  New  Bern  that  the  third  story,  shown 
in  the  plate,  was  omitted,  and  that  the  roof  had  parapet 
walls  with  a  balustrade  around  it ;  was  made  flat  for  a  prome- 
nade, and  had  an  aquarium  on  it.  At  present  only  the  right 
wing  is  standing. 

The  contract  was  signed  with  the  private  seal  of  Tryon,  and 
his  signature  and  that  of  the  architect.  A  fac-simile  of  seal 
and  signatures  is  here  given,  as  made  by  Mr.  Lossing. 


Morse's  Gazetteer  of  1798  has  this  account,  which  was  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Wm.  Atmore,  of  New  Bern,  and  originally  ap- 
peared in  Morse's  first  edition  in  1789,  in  Elizabethtown,  N.  J., 
then  in  his  American  Geography  of  1792,  published  in  Picca- 
dilly, London:  "The  palace  was  erected  by  the  province  be- 
fore the  Revolution,  and  was  formerly  the  residence  of  the 
governors.  It  is  large  and  elegant,  two  stories  high,  with 
two  wings  for  offices,  a  little  advanced  in  front  towards  the 
town;  these  wings  are  connected  with  the  principal  building 
by  a  circular  arcade.  It  is  nuich  out  of  repair;  and  the  only 
use  to  which  this  once  handsome  and  well  furnished  building 
is  now  applied  is  for  schools.  One  of  the  halls  is  used  for  a 
school,  and  another  for  a  dancing  room.  The  arms  of  great 
Britain  still  appear  in  a  pediment  in  front  of  the  building." 
In  1795  the  Academy  was  burned,  and  the  Legislature  allowed 


TRYOn's  palace,  new  BERN.  93 

the  Palace  to  be  used  for  this  school,  of  wliich  Eev.  Thos,  P. 
Irvine,  an  Episcopal  minister,  was  principal.  Ho  kept  wood 
and  hay  in  the  cellar  or  basement  under  the  Conncil  Chaml)er,. 
and  resided  with  his  family  in  the  upper  part.  In  1798,  a 
negro  woman  went  to  look  for  eggs  in  the  hay,*  She  carried 
a  lightwood  torch,  and  some  sparks  falling  on  the  dry  hay 
kindled  a  fierce  blaze.  Unfortunately  a  hole  was  cut  in  the 
floor  above,  through  which  to  pour  water;  but  it  acted  as  a 
flue,  and  the  flames  became  uncontrollable.  Only  the  right  or 
west  wing  was  left,  though  the  burnt  foundation  walls  still  re- 
main. That  wing  has  been  used  as  a  stable.  There  General 
Washington's  war-steeds  were  stabled  when  he  visited  New 
Bern  in  1791.     For  a  long  time  it  was  used  as  a  storage  room 


•  After  diligent  search  I  failed  to  fiud  any  contemporary  record  of  the  time 
when  Tryou's  palace  vmn  burned,  or  any  person  who  could  fix  the  date.  It  has 
been  erroneously  stated  as  1800.  I  have  been  able  to  discover  the  year,  but 
not  the  month  of  the  burning  thus.  While  teaching  in  the  palace,  Mr.  Irving 
sent  the  following  rhyming  order  : 

"Palacf,  New  Been,  Nov.  11,  1797. 

"Messrs.  George  and  Thomas  Ellis  : 

"  I  peud  you,  sirs,  a  little  boy 
To  buy  nie  neither  robe  nor  toy, 
Nor  rum,  nor  sugar,  nor  molasses, 
Coffee,  tea,  nor  empty  glasses  ; 
Nor  linen  cloths,  nor  beau  cravats, 
Nor  handkerchiefs,  nor  beaver  hats  ; 
Nor  anything,  or  less  or  more 
Of  all  that  constitutes  your  store, 
Save  only  this,  a  noon-day  taper. 
And  one  thing  more,  a  quire  of  paper. 
Of  these  pray  send  the  exact  amount, 
And  charge  them  both  to  my  account; 
And  rest  assured  my  prayer  shall  be, 
Kind  sirs,  for  your  prosperitee. 

"Thop.  p.  Irvino." 

On  December  3  and  4,  17;t7,  the  Senate  and  House  of  Commons  considered 
a  bill  appointing  commissioners  to  sell  the  palace  and  building.  But  in  1798 
an  act  was  passed,  reciting  the  fact  that  "the  palace  in  New  Bern  had  been 
destroyed  by  fire,"  and  appointing  commissioners  to  sell  the  "lots,  and  the 
bricks  remaining  of  the  palace."     It  must  have  been  burned  in  171)8. 


94  tryon's  palace,  new  bern. 

for  hay,  grain,  etc.,  by  Mr.  Frederick  J.  Jones  The  United 
States  troops  during  tlie  late  war  tried  to  pnll  i":  down  for  the 
brick  but  the  cement  proved  so  strong,  I  am  told,  that  they 
could  not  get  whole  brick,  and  therefore  left  it.  It  has  since 
been  repaired,  and  used  by  the  Episcopal  Church  for  a  parish 
school-house  and  a  chapel  for  a  short  time,  but  is  now  unused. 
Sundry  relics  of  the  Palace  and  Tryon  are  preserved  in  New 
Bern,  such  as  a  fine  clock,  a  silver  tea-kettle,  a  curious  child's 
chair,  a  marble  and  rosewood  table.  Governor  Tryon's  writing 
desk,  dresses  worn  at  the  Palace  balls,  etc. 

Its  Situatiott. 

It  was  charmingly  located.  The  statements  and  traditions 
of  aged  citizens  long  dead,  the  careful  researches  and  memo- 
ries of  Colonel  John  D.  Whitford  and  others,  restore  the 
scene.  From  the  rear  of  the  Palace  a  fair  terrace  sloped  down 
to  the  Trent  River.  One  sauntering  along  the  guarded  prome- 
nade on  the  roof,  in  the  Autumn  when  the  work  was  finished, 
would  look  through  the  hazy  veil  of  Indian  Summer  upon  the 
Trent,  with  its  cultivated  fields  between  masses  of  virgin  forests, 
its  broad  marshes  dotted  with  green  and  brown  trees,  and  wild 
"  flowers  on  a  green  carpet,  stretching  up  to  Cleremont,  the  home 
of  the  Moores  and  the  Spaights ;  beyond  it  the  home  of  the  Bryces 
and  Gastons,  with  the  division  of  a  creek  only,  Pembrooke,  the 
home  of  the  Nashes."  On  tlie  leit  the  Trent,  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  wide,  joins  the  Neuse,  expanded  to  a  width  of  one  mile  and  a 
half,  and  tlie  wharves  on  both  streams  are  filled  with  vessels, 
and  bustling  with  active  labors,  and  cheery  songs  of  hardy  steve- 
dores. Like  a  line  of  silver,  the  Neuse  runs  through  the  land- 
scape as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 

"  Fair  river  not  unknown  to  classic  song  — 
Which  still  in  varying  beauty  roU'st  along, 
Where  first  thy  infant  fount  is  faintly  seen, 
A  line  of  silver  'mid  a  fringe  of  green  ; 
Or  "where,  near  towering  rocks,  thy  bolder  tide, 
To  win  the  giant  guarded  pass  doth  glide, 
Or  where,  in  azure  mantle,  pure  and  free, 
Thou  giv't-t  thy  cool  hand  to  the  washing  sea." 


tryon's  palace,  new  hern.  95 

Beneath  laid  the  town  of  New  Bern,  nestled  amid  its  grand 
old  trees,  glowing  in  autinnnal  tints  beyond  painter's  skill. 
From  its  homes  are  beginning  to  twinkle  the  lights,  betokening 
loving  reunions  after  toils  of  the  day.  From  the  North  front 
of  the  Palace  runs  George  street,  called  after  the  king.  It  is 
eighty-two  feet  broad,  and  passes — a  splendid  avenue — chiefly 
through  the  original  forest  for  more  than  a  mile  to  Core  Point 
Ferry  on  the  Neuse.  Here  was  a  splendid  drive,  continued 
through  the  "string  of  woods"  (as this  body  of  primeval  growth 
was  called,  that  the  late  war  destroyed),  along  the  charming 
Neuse  and  then  beside  the  Trent,  in  a  circuit  of  three  miles, 
back  to  the  Palace.  "At  this  season  the  maples  and  ash  would 
there  be  glowing  with  purple  and  gold.  The  myrtle,  too,  loved 
this  shore,  and  the  red  berries  would  be  peeping  through  the 
bright  green  foliage  of  the  holly,  while  the  darker  green  pines 
were  there,  ever  waving  their  tops  and  sighing  in  the  gentlest 
winds."  The  flitting  and  the  song  of  tuneful  tenants  of  field 
and  forest  gave  life  to  the  peaceful  sylvan  scene.  "  Imagine  a 
long  stately  row  of  cypress  trees  towering  above  a  snowy  belt 
of  sand,  and  back  of  them  cedars,  darker  green,  shading  the 
grass  reaching  from  the  sand  up  the  slope  fifty  or  sixty  feet, 
and  back  to  a  footpath  skirting  the  enclosed  fields, — they  checked 
off  with  rows  of  cedars, — beyond  oak  groves,  and  the  river  roll- 
ing on  in  front  one  mile  and  a  half  in  width,  and  you  have  some 
idea  of  the  Neuse  shore  as  it  was  in  the.  olden  time."  Upon 
this  scene,  partly  unchanged  when  in  his  boyhood  Rev.  M.  D. 
Hoge,  D.  D.,  lived  with  his  uncle.  Dr.  Lacy,  he  then  looked 
with  pleasure,  and  of  it  writes,  "The  blue  Neuse,  the  sandy 
white  shore,  the  old-fashioned  houses,  the  kind  hearted  people, 
all  dwell  in  my  memory  and  make  a  beautiful  romance,  colored 
with  the  rosy  liglit  which  the  imagination  of  boyhood  throws 
around  the  happy  past. 

"My  old  friend,  Tom  Watson,  wrote  a  little  poem  on  New 
Bern  while  I  lived  there,  in  which  he  described  the  river  as 
lingering  fondly  beside  the  town,  which  it  was  unwilling  to 
leave,  the  last  lines  running  thus: 


96  THE  NEUSE. 

"  Regretful  wave?,  well  may  you  weep  and  sigh 
For  this  br  ght  Eden  as  you  pass  it  by, 
For  wander  where  you  may,  you  ne'er  will  kiss 
A  shore  so  bright,  so  beautiful  as  this." 

Here  was  the  focus  of  a  royal  display,  and  illusive  fasliion- 
able  dissipation.  Atticus,  or  Judge  Maurice  Moore,  satirized 
Gov.  Tryon  for  "the  arrogant  reception  you  gave  to  a  respect- 
able company  at  an  entertainment  of  your  own  making,  seated 
with  your  lady  by  your  side  on  elbow  chairs,  in  the  middle  of 
the  ball-room."  He  charged  that  all  the  existing  mischiefs  in 
the  impoverished  colony,  which  could  not  afford  such  an  outlay,, 
were  caused  by  tlie  appropriations  for  this  Palace ;  and  that 
Tryon  merely  gratified  his  vanity,  and  made  an  elegant  monu- 
ment of  his  taste  and  political  influence,  at  the  expense  of  the 
interest  of  the  province,  and  of  liis  personal  honor  in  changing 
the  plan  of  a  provbice-house  to  that  of  a  Palace,  worthy  the 
residence  of  a  prince  of  the  blood. 

The  balance  of  the  poem  on  the  Neuse,  to  which  Dr.  Hoge 
refers,  is  as  follows.  It  was  written  Iiy  his  friend  Tom, — now 
the  Kev.  Thomas  Watson,  of  Dardenne,  Mo., — about  1838,  in 
his  ITtli  year : 

THE  NEUSE. 
"  I've  been  where  the  waters  are  sparkling  and  pure, 
I've  watched  them  roll  gallantly  on  to  the  sea. 
And  I  loved  their  sweet  murmuring  voice,  but  I'm  sure 
I  never  as  Neuse  thought  them  lovely  to  me. 

'Tve  stood  on  the  breast  of  a  hill-shaded  vale, 
And  listened  with  joy  to  full  many  a  rill, 
That  sported  around  me  all  sparkling  and  pale, 
And  then  have  I  said,  Neuse  is  lovelier  still. 

"I've  gazed,  when  the  moon  lent  her  magical  light, 
On  a  field  of  clear  waters,  all  tranquil  in  rest. 
With  a  mirror  of  heaven,  as  blue  and  as  bright, 
And  then  bave  I  vowed  that  I  loved  Neuse  the  best. 

"Thy  waters,  fair  river,  have  flowed  by  the  shore 

Where  my  fathers  are  sleeping,  since  first  thou  were  free 
From  the  kind  hand  of  Nature,  that  never  made  more 
So  bright,  so  enchanting,  so  lovely  as  thee." 


NEW  BERN  IN  1819. 


"  r  I  lIIE  American.  Universal  Geography''''  for  1819  says: 
1  "The  public  buildings  are  three  houses  of  religious  wor- 
ship, for  Episcopalians,  Baptists,  and  Methodists ;  a  handsome 
court-house  and  jail,  all  of  brick ;  a  theatre,  an  academy,  and  two 
banks.  The  houses  formerly  were  almost  wholly  of  wood,  and 
indifferently  built;  but  since  the  destructive  fires,"  which  have 
happened  here,  the  new  buildings  are  of  brick,  and  handsome. 
The  town  is  thriving,  having  increased  in  the  last  eighteen  years 
from  2,500  to  6,000  inhabitants.  It  owns  and  employs  in  a 
brisk  commerce  about  5,000  tons  of  shipping;  which  carries 
to  market  lumber,  tar,  and  other  naval  stores,  pork,  corn,  etc. 
A  steamboat  intercourse  is  established  between  New  Bern  and 
Norfolk.  A  passage  from  the  latter  by  the  former  to  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  a  distance  of  800  miles,  is  now  easily  performed  in 
seven  days."  There  is  some  error  here  as  to  the  population. 
By  the  census  of  1850  it  was  only  4,681,  and  6,445  in  1880. 
'Worcester'' s  Universal  Geography  for  1817  gives  it  as  2,167,  and 
the  tonnage  in  1810  as  7,413;  but  his  estimate  may  be  that  of 
1810  for  inhabitants.  About  the  latter  date  its  prospects  grew 
bright,  and  its  trade  was  large  with  the  West  Indies  and  interior 
of  the  State.  One  of  the  oldest  citizens  has  told  me  that  he 
remembered  when  one  hundred  and  ten  vessels  were  owned 
here.  Its  citizens,  John  and  Asa  Jones,  brothers,  were  among 
the  first  to  introduce  the  distilling  of  turpentine  into  the  town 
and  State.  Scrapers  were  not  then  used  on  the  pine-trees,  but 
they  were  hacked  with  the  hatchet. 

*  I  have  read  auacconut,  in  au  old  newspaper, — the  lialeigh  Ueginteroi  Sep- 
tember ir.th,  1808,— of  a  destructive  fire  iu  New  Bern,  in  which  the  brick 
building  of  Mr.  Isaac  Taylor  was  with  difficulty  preservel.  and  Maj.  George 
Ellis  was  mortally  wounded,  in  the  blowing  up  of  one  of  the  houses,  by  a 
windoA  frame  falling  on  him.     He  died  the  next  day. 


98  NEW  STREET. 

An  account  in  1818  says:  "There  are  three  houses  of  pub- 
lic worship  in  New  Bern,  and  at  present  three  congregations 
supplied  with  pastors.  The  Episcopalians,  who  are  a  numer- 
ous and  respectable  body,  have  a  decent  brick  church,  at  pre- 
sent supplied  with  a  clergyman.  The  Methodists,  the  most 
numerous  society  of  Christians  in  the  place,  have  a  very  large 
and  convenient  chapel,  and  are  supplied  with  a  regular  succes- 
sion of  able  and  evangelical  preachers.  The  Baptists  have  a 
meeting-house,  at  present  out  of  repair.  They  have  no  regu- 
lar preacher.  Besides  these,  a  Presbyterian  congregation 
meet  at  the  Academy  for  public  woi'ship."  Upon  the  advent 
of  the  steamer  Norfolk'  on  our  waters  in  1819,  some  enthusiasm 
and  rivalry  in  building  began,  and  some  substantial  edifices 
were  erected. 

Many  of  the  great  men  of  North  Carolina  and  the  United 
States  were  born  or  lived  liere.  This  fact,  with  its  previous 
history  and  influence,  gave  to  New  Bern  the  honorable  soubri- 
quet, "  The  Aihe?is  of  North  Carolina^ 

Beta  Strcijf. 

This  street,  whose  name  was  recently  changed  to  Nevse^  be- 
gins on  the  Neuse,  and  was  one  of  the  most  famed  as  the  resi- 
dence of  men  of  distinguished  talent.  Here  were  the  man- 
sion of  Hon.  William  Blackledge,  the  house  and  law-office  of 
Judge  William  Gaston,  the  residence  of  the  younger  Gov. 
Bichard  D.  Spaight  (the  Mitchell  House),  and  opposite  to  it 
the  imposing  house  of  John  Stanly  and  his  law-office.  In  the 
Stanly  building,  begun  before  the  Revolution,  but  not  com- 
pleted, were  fitted  up  rooms  for  the  entertainment  of  General 
Washington,  when  here  in  1791.  A  notable  public  reception 
was  given  him  in  the  Palace.  Mr.  Stanly  also  here  enter- 
tained General  Nathaniel  Greene,  when  his  army  was  famished 
and  half  naked,  and  General  Greene  knew  not  what  to  do. 
Then  Mr.  Stanly  patriotically  loaned  him  forty  thousand 
pounds  for  his  suffering  heroes.  Hon.  Edward  Everett,  when 
here  to  deliver  his  celebrated  oration  on  Washington,  on  pass- 
ing this  house,  lifted  his  hat,  and  said,  "  Ondi  the  liome  ^f  pa- 


Washington's  LE-rrER.  99 

triots  and  statesmen.''^  On  the  square  beyond  the  Presbyterian 
Church  (which  stands  opposite  to  the  Stanly  Building)  is  the 
Academy,  already  mentioned,  with  its  modern  additions.  Next 
to  it  is  the  Roberts'  House,  formerly  occupied  by  Hon.  J.  L. 
Taylor,  Chief  Justice  of  the  State.  His  law-office  was  on  John- 
son Street,  parallel  with  New,  in  a  small  building  opposite  Mr. 
John  Lane's  carpenter  shop ;  but  recently  it  has  been  enlarged 
to  a  dwelling-house.  At  the  beginning  of  New  Street  lived 
Judge  M.  E.  Manly,  also  on  the  Supreme  Court  Bench.  His 
residence  M'as  the  noted  "Emory  House,"  where  Presiden 
Monroe  and  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun  were  entertained  when 
visiting  the  city. 

While  he  was  in  New  Bern,  the  citizens  addressed  a  letter 
of  welcome  to  General  Washington,  to  which  he  returned  the 
following  rcj)ly: 

"  To  THE  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  New  Bern. 

"  Gentlemen:  I  express  with  real  pleasure  the  grateful  sentiments  ^hich 
your  address  inspires.  I  am  much  indebted,  in  ever  personal  regard,  to 
the  polite  attentions  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  Bern,  nor  am  I  less  grati- 
fied by  the  patriotic  declarations  on  the  situation  of  our  common  country. 
Pleasing  indeed  is  the  comparison  which  a  retrospect  of  the  past  scenes 
affords  with  oiir  present  happy  condition — and  equally  so  is  the  anticipa- 
tion of  what  we  may  still  attain,  and  long  continue  to  enjoy.  A  bounti- 
ful Providence  has  blest  us  with  all  the  means  of  national  and  domestic 
happiness ;  to  our  own  virtue  and  wisdom  we  are  referred  for  their  improve- 
ment and  realization. 

"That  the  town  of  New  Bern  may  eminently  participate  in  the  general 
prosperity,  and  its  inhabitants  be  individually  happy,  is  my  sincere 
wish.  G.  Washington." 


PRESBYTERIANISM  IN  NEW  BERN. 


taoo  to  tatz. 

IN  1800  there  could  not  have  been  enough  Presbyterians 
here  to  organize  a  church.  Dr.  Elias  Hawes  was  here  in 
1798,  perhaps  earlier;  and  Kobert  Hay,  a  staunch  Scotch 
Covenanter,  settled  here  about  the  opening  of  the  century. 
Both  of  these  gentlemen  were  afterwards  ruling  elders  in  this 
church.  Mr.  Hay  worshipped  with  the  Methodists,  but  de- 
clined to  connect  himself  formally  with  those  bretln-en,  though 
he  was  solicited  publicly  from  the  pulpit  to  do  so.  About 
1806  or  1807,  it  is  probable  that  James  K.  Burch  was  teaching 
a  school  here  for  boys  and  girls  in  the  oflBce  of  Hon.  John 
Wright  Stanly  across  the  street  from  the  present  Presl)yte- 
rian  lecture-room. 

In  this  work  he  was  assisted  by  Benjamin  H.  Rice  and  Wil- 
liam Leftwich  Turner. 

Was  born  in  Bedford  County,  Virginia,  29th  ISTovember,  1782, 
and  converted  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  James  Turner. 
He  pursued  his  classical  course  and  theological  studies  for  six 
years  under  his  distinguished  brother.  Rev.  John  H.  Rice; 
came  to  North  Carolina  and  taught  school  in  New  Bern,  then 
in  Raleigh;  was  licensed  by  Orange  Presbytery  in  1810,  in 
Raleigh;  in  1811  sent  by  the  General  Assembly  to  the  sea- 
shore of  North  Carolina  as  a  missionary ;  ordained  by  Orange 
Presbytery  4th  April,  1812,  and  sent  as  commissioner  to  the 
General  Assembly;  dismissed  September  26,  1812,  and  went 
to  Petersburg,  Ya.,  where  he  organized  a  church,  of  which  he 
was  pastor  for  seventeen  3'ears,  and  to  which  I  preached  a  short 
time;   in  1829  he  was  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly. 


AV.  L.  TURNER. JAMES  K.  BURCII.  101 

After  some  other  changes,  he  took  cliarge  of  College  Church, 
Prince  Edward  County,  Ya.,  where  he  was  attacked  by  paraly- 
sis while  in  the  pulpit,  January  IT,  1856,  and  died  24th  February 
following. 

Was  the  son  of  Rev.  James  Turner,  Bedford,  Ya.  His  early 
liistory  and  the  time  of  his  ordination  are  unknown  to  me.  He 
was  principal  of  the  academy  and  pastor  of  the  church  in 
Raleigh  for  some  time;  went  to  Fayetteville  in  1809,  and 
taught  scliool,  as  well  as  preached.  His  j)a8tciral  services  there 
were  greatly  blessed;  but  on  the  IStli  of  October,  1813,  in  his 
thirtieth  year,  in  the  midst  of  usefulness,  and  the  tears  of  an 
affectionate  people,  he  died.  He  was  a  man  of  marked  talents 
and  character,  unaffected  piety,  and  beauty  of  life. 

Was  a  native  of  Albemarle  County,  Ya.  He  was  received  by 
Orange  Presbytery,  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  at  Ala- 
mance, 25th  September,  ISOG.  He  pi-esented  his  certificate  of 
classical  and  scientitic  attainments  from  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Baxter, 
D.  D.,  principal  of  Washington  Academy,  now  Washington 
and  Lee  University,  Ya.  On  24th  September,  1807,  at  Buf- 
falo Church,  he  was  licensed,  by  the  same  Presbytery,  to  preach 
the  Gospel;  and  at  Buffalo  Church,  Moore  County,  X.  C,  on 
Thursday,  7th  April,  1808,  the  following  minute  occurs  in  the 
records  of  Orange  Presbytery : 

"Mr.  James  Burch  received  a  call  from  New  Bern,  and  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  Stanford,  Turner,  Robinson,  and  Murphy,  were  ap- 
pointed an  intermediate  Presbytery  to  meet  in  New  Bern,  on 
Friday,  tlio  27th  of  I^Iay  next,  to  ordain  Mr.  Burch. 

"The  Rev.  Wm.  L.  Turner  to  preach  the  ordination  sermon, 
and  Mr.  Stanford  to  pi-eside,  and  give  the  charge. 

"  Mr.  Burch  is  ordered  to  prepare  a  lecture  on  the  23d  Psalm, 
and  a  sermon  on  Luke  18:  13,  and  be  examined  on  theology, 
-chronology,  and  church  history,  previous  to  ordination." 


102  PRESBYTERIANISM  IN  NEW  BERN. 

This  order  was  carried  out,  as  we  learn  from  the  Minutes  of 
Presbytery  at  its  seventy-seventh  session,  at  Alamance  Church, 
29th  September,  1808: 

"  Tlie  Minutes  of  the  Intermediate  Presbytery  appointed  to 
meet  at  Kew  Bern  were  read,  and  are  as  follows : 

"New. Bern,  3fmj  "iWi,  1808. 

"Intermediate  Presbytery  met  according  to  appointment, 
viz.,  the  Kev.  Messrs.  Samuel  Stanford,  Wm.  L.  Turner,  and 
Mnrdock  Murphy.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Stanford  was  chosen 
Moderator,  and  Murdock  Murphy,  Clerk. 

"Mr.  James  Burch  delivered  a  sermon  and  lecture  on  the 
su])jects  assigned  him  by  Presbytery,  and  was  examined  on 
chronology  and  church  history,  which  were  sustained. 

"The  Rev.  Wm.  L.  Turner  preached  the  ordination  sermon, 
and  Mr.  Burch  having  answered  the  questions  our  Form  of 
Government  requires  in  such  cases,  he  was  ordained  to  the 
holy  office  of  the  ministry,  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of 
the  Presbytery,  and  prayer,  and  a  charge  was  given  suitable  to 

the  occasion. 

"  Concluded  with  prayer. 

"MuKDOCK  Murphy,  Clerk.''^ 

In  1809  Messrs.  Burcli  and  Turner  were  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  the  General  Assembly,  The  following  record  is 
copied  from  the  Presijyterial  Minutes  of  September  27,  1810: 
"  The  Rev.  James  K.  Burch  applied  by  letter  to  be  dismissed 
from  his  jxfstoral  charge,  and  also  from  this  Presbytery,  to  join 
the  Presbytery  of  Phihadelphia.  Said  charge  informed  Pres- 
bytery by  their  representatives  of  their  willingness  tliat  Mr. 
Burch  should  resign  his  pastoral  charge.  The  Presbytery  ac- 
cepted his  resignation,  and  he  was  also  dismissed  to  join  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia." 

Dr.  Gillett,  in  his  "History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church," 
says,  "The  church  at  New  Bern  was  gathered  but  a  short  time 
previous  to  1809,  and  in  that  year  James  K.  Burch  was  its 
pastor.     For  a  long  time  subsequent  it  must  have  remained  in 


A  SUBSCRIPTION.  103 

a  feeble  state,  even  if  it  retuined  its  organization."  He  says 
that  Mr.  Burch  preached  for  some  time  at  New  Bern,  and  af- 
terward at  Washini^-ton.  The  Minutes  copied  above,  however, 
seem  to  show  that  there  was  an  organization  in  New  Bern  be- 
fore April,  1808,  as  a  call  was  given  and  presented  to  Presby- 
tery for  pastoral  services  in  April.  Nothing  in  the  Minutes 
of  Presbytery  warrants  the  statement  that  Mr.  Burch  preached 
in  Washington,  as  on  the  dissolution  of  his  relation  to  New 
Bern  he  went  to  Phihidelphia.  This  transfer  seems  to  have 
been  through  the  influence  of  Dr.  Alexander.  Mr.  Burch's 
name  stands  in  the  Presbyterial  Minutes  opposite  to  New  Bern 
in  1808  and  1809,  under  the  heading  ''names  of  congrega- 
tions;"" but  under  the  head  "communicants,"  New  Bern  is 
marked  '■''  unknown ^  Dr.  Gillett  says  that  Mr.  Burch  was  "a 
man  of  mure  tlian  ordinary  eloquence,  but  greatly  lacking  in 
stability,  he  was  quite  unfitted  to  secure  the  confidence  in  him- 
self or  his  measures  which  was  necessary  to  build  up  a  prosper- 
ous congregation."     He  died  about  1859-'G0. 

From  an  old  copy  of  "7%^  Morning  Herald''''  of  New  Bern, 
in  1808,  the  following  is  copied,  which  shows  activity  and  zeal 
on  the  part  of  the  Presbyterians: 

A  SUBSCRIPTION, 

For  the  purpose  of  Erecting  a 

P  R  F.  S  B  Vr  E  R  I  A  N    M  F.  E  T  I  N  G  -  H  O  U  S  E, 

Has  lately  been  let  on  foot  in  the  town  of  Newbern,  and  a  number 
of  names  obtained. 

Papers  are  left  at  tlie  Bank,  Printing  Office,  Book  Store,  and  in  the 
hands  of  ieveral  gentlemen  in  the  Town  and  Country,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  Copy  : — Christians  of  every  denomination  are  reipect- 
fully  invited  to  yield  their  aid. 

THI'^  Subscribers  severally  promise  to  pay  the  sums  of  money  op- 
posite their  respective  Namks  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  a  Lot  in 
Newbern  with  such  improvements  thereon  as  may  be  converted  into 
a  Presbyterian  Meeting-House,  and  for  the  completion  of  the  same, 
or  for  purchasing  ground  and  erecting  thereon  a  suitable  building  for 
such  Meeting-House — or  for  purchasing  or  otherwise  accjuiring  an  in- 
terest in  a  House  or  other  buikling,  or  part  of  such  building  to  be 


104  PRESBYTEEIANISM  IN  NEW  BERN. 

converted  into  a  Meeting- House  as  aforesaid,  and  for  the  occasional 
performance  of  Divine  Service  by  such  Minister  of  the  Christian  Reli- 
gion as  the  Presbyterian  Pastor  for  the  time  being,  or  other  persons 

having  charge  of  the  said  building  shall  think  proper  to  admit We 

also  severally  promise  to  deliver  and  make  titles  for  such  property 
specifically  subscribed  by  us  respectively  for  said  purposes:  the  sums 
of  money  to  be  paid  in  one  year,  in  quarterly  payments  to  the  person 
or  persons  whom  the  commissioners  to  be  appointed  as  hereinafter 
provided  for,  or  a  majority  of  them  shall  direct. — And  the  property 
specifically  subscribed  to  be  delivered  and  titles  made  to  said  Com- 
missioners in  trust  for  the  purposes  and  to  the  uses  contemplated  by 
this  subscription ;  and  it  is  agreed  that  a  majority  of  the  subscribers 
hereto,  after  forty  shall  have  subscribed,  shall  have  authority  at  a 
meeting  of  a  majority  of  said  forty  subscribers,  or  a  majority  of  those 
who  do  meet,  after  notice  be  given,  to  appoint  five  Commissioners, 
who,  or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  have  power  to  make  contracts  for 
fulfilling  the  objects  of  this  Subscription. 

Neivbeni,  December  lo,  1807. 

The  result  of  tliis  appeal  is  not  now  known. 

The  teachers  before  named,  were  succeeded  about  1812  by 
Rev.  J.  W.  Thompson,  who  was  a  Presbyterian  minister  from 
Yirginia,  and  a  relative  of  Mr.  Burch.  He  taug-ht  in  the  Aca- 
demy building,  where  lie  also  preached,  as  well  as  in  the  old 
Baptist  meeting-house,  at  the  corner  of  Metcalf  and  Johnson 
Streets,  near  Cedar  Grove  Cemetery.  He  married  Miss  Me- 
hetabel  Blanchard  Carney,  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  "original 
thirteen  members"  of  this  church,  and  of  Huguenot  ancestry. 
It  is  probable  that  at  this  period  Presbyterian  services,  at  least 
prayer-meetings,  were  held  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Minor,  on 
Craven  Street  near  Pollock,  and  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Robert 
Hunt,  which  was  the  Brissington  House,  on  East  Front  Street 
above  Broad,  and  now  the  residence  of  Henry  R.  Bryan,  Esq. 
Mr.  Thompson  was  a  consumptive,  and  remained  here  only  a 
short  time.  He  probably  died  in  Raleigh  in  1815,  and  was 
followed  here  by 


KEV.  JONATHAN  OTIS  FREEMAN,  M.  D.  105 

Who  was  teaching  in  New  Bern  abont  1816.  Dr.  Freeman 
was  born  in  Sandwicli,  Biirnstnble  Comity,  Mass.,  April  6th, 
1772.  He  was  the  third  son  and  iiftli  child  of  lion.  Nathanael 
Freeman,  who  was  twi<-e  married,  and  was  the  father  of  twenty 
children.  He  was  probably  edncated  in  his  native  State,  and 
took  his  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  On  the  10th  of  De- 
cember, 1794,  he  married  Lncy  Crocker,  of  Falmouth,  Mass. 
Dr.  Freeman  first  practised  medicine  in  association  with  his 
father  in  his  native  town,  wliere  he  was  also  a  Justice  of  tlie 
Peace.  Subsequently  he  settled  in  Falmouth,  Mass.,  whence 
he  came  to  Edenton,  N.  C,  in  1805,  and  taught  school. 
Thence  he  moved  to  New  Bern,  and  became  principal  of  the 
New  Bern  Academy.  Associated  with  him  were  his  two  bro- 
thers, Frederick  and  George  W.,  who  were  or  became  Episco- 
pal ministers.  The  latter  became  rector  of  Clirist  Church, 
Raleigh,  N.  C,  and  afterwards  the  Bishop  of  Arkansas. 

Eev.  J.  O.  Freeman  was  a  distinguished  educator.  He  taught 
also  in  Salisbury,  Kaleigh,  and  Washington,  N.  C,  and  gave 
many  of  our  promineiit  men  their  classical  training  for  college, 
and  to  his  faithful  teaching  they  attributed  their  future  honors. 
His  school  in  New  Bern  numbered  nearly  two  hundred,  and 
some  of  his  pupils  still  remain,  who  have  spoken  to  me  about 
him.  He  pursued  and  popularized  the  Lancastrian  system. 
An  aged  lady  recently  said:  "If  there  ever  was  a  Christian, 
he  was  one  ;  and  we  all  loved  liim  so  much."  He  preached  in 
the  Academy,  and  his  unaffected  piety  and  gentleness  won  uni- 
versal favor  with  all  classes.  During  liis  ministrations  here  we 
have  the  first  record  of  the  formal  organization  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church ;  but  the  formation  was  not  by  him,  and  I  cannot 
ascertain  what  part  he  had  in  it.  Dr.  Freeman  removed  to  Salis- 
bury, N.  C,  in  1820,  and  opened  a  school.  He  was  dismissed 
from  Orange  to  Concord  Presbytery  in  April,  1821 ;  and  Angust 
4th,  1821,  he  organized  the  Salisbury  Cliurch  with  "  thirteen  " 
members,  and  remained  its  pastor  until  1826,  during  which 
period  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  church  building  was  laid, 


106  PKESBYTERIANISM  IN   NEW  BERN. 

and  the  church  well  started  on  its  career  of  usefulness.  He  then 
labored  in  Virginia  and  in  Orange  Presbytery,  and  died  in 
Washington,  N,  C,  November  2d,  1835,  in  his  sixty-third  year. 
His  oldest  son,  Edmund  B.  Freeman,  was  Clerk  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  Ealeigh  from  1836  to  1868.  At  his  house  Mrs.  J.  O. 
Freeman  died.  May  27,  1844.  Dr.  Freeman  was  esteemed  as 
a  physician,  honored  as  a  clergyman,  eminent  as  an  instructor 
of  youth,  and  enjoyed  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  sincere  re- 
spect and  warm  aflfection  of  many  filling  high  places,  as  their 
learned  and  beloved  preceptor. 

#r0mti2:nf  ton* 

Rev.  John  Witherspoon  was  born  in  New  Bern,  and  was 
educated  at  Princeton  College.  He  preached  here  frequently. 
In  his  younger  days  his  fame  as  a  preacher  was  upon  every 
tongue.  His  father,  Dr.  Witherspoon,  a  physician,  was  the  son 
of  the  distinguished  Revolutionary  patriot,  and  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  President  John  Witherspoon, 
D.  D.  of  Princeton  College,  and  married  the  widow  of  Gov. 
Nash,  of  New  Bern  ;  so  Rev.  Mr.  Witherspoon  was  half-brother 
of  Judge  Frederick  Nash.  He  lived  in  Hillsboro,  founded  the 
Presbyterian  Church  there,  and  was  its  first  pastor.  He  died 
in  1854. 

It  has  already  been  stated,  that  in  182T  nearly  all  the  Min- 
utes of  Orange  Presbytery  were  consumed  by  fire  with  his 
house  in  Hillsboro,  N.  C,  and  that  a  committee  was  raised  to 
recover  as  much  as  possible  of  the  lost  history  of  the  church. 
In  this  book  of  statistics,  thus  compiled,  it  is  recorded  that  the 
New  Bern  church  was  organized  on  the  1th  of  January,  1817, 
ly  Rev.  John  Witherspoon  ;  that  it  then  consisted  of  nine  raetn- 
bers,  and  that  Dr.  EUas  Ilavjes  and  Robert  Ilay  were  made 
ruling  elders. 

From  other  trustworthy  sources  we  learn,  that  this  organi- 
zation was  effected  in  the  liouse  and  parlor  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Minor,  on  Craven  Street,  near  Pollock.  The  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Minor,  Miss  Julia  Minor,  still  living,  says  that  her  mother 
always  stated  this  as  the  birthplace  of  the  New  Bern  church. 


THK  THIRTEEN.  107 

Uiiiforni  tradition,  and  the  mural  tablets  in  our  church  (placed 
there  many  years  aij;o),  affirm  that  tlicre  were  thirtceii  ori^jinal 
)ueniber6.  It  may  be  tliat,  on  the  foi'uial  gathering  as  a  church, 
and  after  the  election,  ordination  and  installation  of  elders, 
four  other  persons  were  received  and  enrolled  as  of  equal 
standing  and  date  witli  the  nine  spoken  of  in  the  Presbyterial 
minute ;  for  I  have  been  told  that  Mr.  Witherspoon  received 
Mrs.  John  Jones  into  the  church  ;  or  it  may  be  that,  in  the  ten 
years  that  elapsed  between  the  organization  of  the  church  and 
the  destruction  of  the  Minutes,  his  memory  erred  as  to  the 
original  number. 

Dr.  Elias  Ilawes  and  Robert  Hay,  ruling  elders ;  Mrs.  Eunice 
Hunt,  a  daughter  of  President  Jonathan  Edwards,  D.  D.,  of 
Princeton  College ;  Mrs.  Lydia  Stewart,  Mrs.  Sarah  Webber, 
Mrs.  Lucretia  Bell,  (afterwards  Mrs.  John  Jones,)  John  Jones, 
Mrs.  Jane  Carney,  Mrs.  Frances  Devereaux,  Mrs.  Mary  Dewey, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Minor,  Mrs.  Luisa  Morning,  and  Mrs.  John  C. 
Stanly,  a  colored  meml»er. 

Was  this  the  first  gathering  of  the  church  in  New  Bern  ? 
The  facts  already  adduced  about  the  call  laid  before  Presby- 
tery in  April,  1808,  and  the  jxisionUe  of  Rev.  J.  K.  Burch, 
seem  to  show  an  organized  and  working  church  then  ;  and  after- 
wards, when  the  tie  was  severed  by  Presbytery,  the  charge  signi- 
fied  their  assent  by  their  representatives.  The  New  Bern  con- 
gregation again  appears  on  the  Assembly's  Minutes  in  1813  as 
contributing  ten  dollars  to  Missions.  Life  was  still  manifested, 
though  no  pastor  led  the  flock.  There  can  be  little  doul)t  as  to 
both  of  the  elders  named,  and  other  adherents,  being  in  the 
city  during  all  the  silent  years.  So  it  must  be  that  here,  as  in 
many  of  our  early  churclies,  a  sturdy  cluster  of  Presbyterians 
gathered  and  acted  as  if  organized,  getting  what  ministerial  ser- 
vice they  could,  and  watching  for  an  opportunity  of  securing  a 
pastor,  and  effecting  a  permanent  crystallization.  This  was  ac- 
complished, after  some  years  of  trial  to  faith  and  hope,  on  the 
ever  memorable  7^A  January.,  1817.    Mr.  Witherspoon  preached 


i08  PKESBYTERIANISM  IN  NEW  BERN. 

in  the  old  Baptist  church.  In  this  movement  Dr.  Freeman 
must  liave  assisted;  but  it  doubtless  was  consolidated,  and 
thoroughly  established  for  an  onward  and  successful  career,  by 
the  valuable  labors  of  the  Rev.  J.  N.  Campbell,  who  was  the 
next  preacher  after  this  formation.  The  date  of  his  advent  is 
unknown;  but  he  continued  here  until  some  time  in  1820. 

"Was  born  in  Philadelphia,  March  4th,  1798.  His  maternal 
grandfather  was  Ilobert  Aitken,  a  Scotcli  Seceder  immigrant 
in  1769,  and  the  publisher  of  the  lirst  English  edition  of  the 
Bible  in  this  countr3^  Mr.  Campbell  entered  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  but  did  not  graduate;  studied  theology  and  the 
classics  under  Rev.  Ezra  Styles  Ely,  D.  D. ;  was  a  while  Pro- 
fessor of  Languages  in  Hampden  Sidney  College,  Ya. ;  was 
licensed  to  preach  by  Hanover  Presbytery,  May  10th,  1817; 
and  commenced  his  ministry  in  Petersburg,  Va.,  where  he  some- 
times preached  for  Dr.  Benj.  Rice,  then  pastor  of  Tabb  Street 
Church.  Here  he  married  his  first  wife,  (a  daughter  of  Robert 
Boiling,  Esq.,)  who  died  in  a  few  years.  He  subsequently  mar- 
ried Miss  E.  T.  Tilghman,  of  Maryland,  who  still  survives  him. 

From  Petersburg  Mr.  Campbell  came  to  New  Bern,  where 
Rev.  W.  B.  Sprague,  D.  D.,  says  he  was  instrumental  in  estab- 
lishing the  first  Presbyterian  Church;  and  Mrs.  Campbell 
writes  me,  "I  have  frequently  heard  my  husband  speak  of 
New  Bern,  and  say  that  he  was  instrumental  in  establishing 
there  the  first  Presbyterian  Church;  but  so  many  years  have 
passed  since  then,  tliat  I  cannot  i*ecall  any  particulars  about  it. 
My  husband  did  not  remain  there  long.  I  think  the  climate 
did  not  agree  with  liim."'  It  is  prubaMe  that  Dr.  Rice,  who 
had  formei-ly  lived  in  New  Bei-n,  directed  Mr.  Campbell  thither. 

In  the  autumn  of  1820,  Mr.  Campbell  was  chosen  Chaplain 
to  Congress ;  and  though  only  twenty-two  years  old,  discharged 
his  diflicult  ofiice  in  a  highly  satisfactory  manner.  In  1823  he 
was  the  assistant  of  Rev.  Dr.  Balch  in  Georgetown;  and  in 
1824  or  1825,  took  charge  of  New  York  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church,  Washington,  D.  C.     Soon  the  church  was  crowded, 


BEV.  JOHN  NICHOLSON  CAMPBELL.  109' 

and  his  reputation  spread  widely.  Here  he  was  intimate  Avith 
Hon.  William  Wirt,  and  associated  with  the  great  men  of  that 
day.  President  Andrew  Jackson  was  a  member  of  his  conirre- 
gation.  When  the  famous  imbroglio  about  Mrs.  Eaton  oc- 
curred, and  broke  up  the  President's  Cabinet,  Mr.  Campbell 
came  in  conflict  Mitli  the  President,  who  tried  to  control  the 
Church's  action.  Mr.  Campbell  spoke  to  him  with  the  utmost 
plainness,  and  proved  to  be  a  man  of  as  iron  will  as  "Old 
Hickory"  himself,  and  as  inflexible  in  the  line  of  duty;  so  a 
breach  occurred  between  them.  Through  Chief-Justice  Spen- 
cer, of  New  York,  Mr.  Campbell  was  introduced  to  tlie  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Albany ;  was  called  thither,  accepted 
the  pastorate  thereof,  and  was  installed  in  office  on  Sept.  11th, 
1831.  This  position  he  retained  till  his  death,  March  27th, 
1864. 

Mr.  Campbell  was  one  of  the  Regents  of  the  State  Univer- 
sity, and  was  identified  with  all  the  public  charities  of  All»any. 
On  Sabbath,  March  20th,  he  filled  the  usual  services,  and 
preached  with  his  accustomed  vigor.  On  Monday  he  attended 
the  meeting  of  Regents  in  the  Capitol.  But  on  the  next  Sab- 
batli,  Easter,  as  his  congregation — most  of  whom  scarcely  knew 
that  he  was  sick,  or  seriously  so, — were  assembling  for  their 
communion  service,  they  were  startled  to  learn  that  Dr.  Camp- 
bell's spirit  was  passing  to  the  sanctuary  above,  there  to  cele- 
brate the  marriage  supper  of  the  Lamb  whh  the  ransomed,  and 
witli  the  glorified  Redeemer.  His  health  had  nearly  always 
been  infirm,  but  his  constitution  Mas  elastic,  and  his  strength  of 
purpose  indomital)le,  so  that  his  labors  were  prodigious  and  un- 
remitting. His  funeral  was  attended  by  the  Governor  and  his 
stafi^,  and  by  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature,  which  adjourned 
for  the  purpose.  The  flag  on  the  State  Capitol  was  lowered  to 
half-mast  from  respect  to  his  memory,  and  on  account  of  the 
public  loss  sustained  by  his  death. 

Dr.  Campbell  was  a  man  of  regal  presence,  with  manners 
suited  for  a  court ;  of  large  executive  and  financial  abilities, 
and  profound  knowledge  of  human  nature ;  of  quick,  keen, 
and   vigorous  intellect,  and  a  retentive  memory,  stored   with 


110  PALMY  DAYS. 181S. 

vast,  varied,  and  practical  knowledge  about  almost  every  phase 
of  life.  He  Lad  a  fine  flow  of  spirits,  a  pleasant  and  w'inning 
address,  and  the  power  of  administering  the  keenest  and  most 
withering  rebuke  witliout  giving  offence.  His  taste  was  exact 
and  classic,  Ijoth  as  to  his  own  person  and  to  large  architectural 
superintendence.  Adorned  with  these  gifts  and  powers,  with 
an  open  heart  and  open  hand,  frank,  yet  firm,  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  he  was  called  "  the  pope  "  in  his  church. 

He  was  always  a  graceful  and  impressive  speaker,  preach- 
ing— after  the  Scotch  fashion — in  gown  and  bands;  a  Chris- 
tian without  austerity,  bold,  manly,  liberal,  yet  a  decided 
Presbyterian ;  a  man  of  mark  and  great  usefulness  in  his  gen- 
eration. The  aged  and  honored  Rev.  Tlieodoiic  Pryor,  T>.  D., 
who  probal)ly  heard  him  preach  in  both  Petersburg  and  Albany, 
writes  me,  that  Mr.  Campbell  "  was  a  handsome  man ;  a  man 
of  great  culture,  and  one  of  the  most  eloquent  pulpit  orators 
that  I  ever  heard."  This  is  the  clergyman  whom  God  sent 
at  this  epoch  to  be  the  leader  of  the  gathering  Presbyterian 
band  in  this  city. 

Palms  Ma^s.^lBlB. 

About  the  year  1818  is  considered  the  palmy  day  of  tliis 
ancient  Borough,  then  more  than  one  hundred  years  old.  Many 
of  those  whom  North  Carolina  deliglits  to  honor  had  walked, 
or  still  walked,  these  beautifully  shaded  avenues,  graced  society, 
and  fostered  successful  political  and  commercial  enterprises. 
Others  were  soon  to  stand  before  the  Commonwealth  and 
receive  their  palms  and  laurels,  won  l)y  beautiful  integrity  of 
character,  Cln-istian  virtues,  brilliant  intellectual  powers,  all 
illustriously  devoted  to  philanthropic  labors  and  patriotic  states- 
manship. The  names  of  Coor,  Hatch,  Bryan,  Xavier  Martin, 
Gov.  Nash,  the  two  Governois  Spaight,  Stanly,  Gaston,  Sit- 
greaves,  Graham,  Shepherd,  Badger,  Manly,  will  not  soon  lose 
their  fragrance,  or  cease  to  be  cherished  as  a  goodly  heritage. 
New  Bern  had  attained  to  an  enviable  reputation  in  the  State, 
and  its  social  refinement  was  one  of  its  marked  features,  that 
both  adorned  and  fascinated. 


PALMY  DAYS. 1818.  Ill 

Tlie  first  steam-mill  in  New  Bern  had  been  erected  by  Wil- 
liam Shepherd  in  1812,  from  prize-money  he  had  received  from 
successes  of  the  celebrated  privateer  ^^Snaj)  Dragon T  It  was  on 
the  Trent.  Soon  another  sprang  up  at  Union  Point.  Then  there 
were  Capt.  Blaney's  celebrated  limpid  castor  oil  factory,  the 
Harvey  cordage  works,  turpentine  and  rosin-oil  distilleries, 
grist-mills,  saw-mills,  a  tannery,  a  rum-mill,  and  ship  building, 
all  adding  greatly  to  the  material  prosperity  of  the  city.  Old 
Mrs.  Bartlet  and  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Emery,  kept  in  the 
Badger  House,  near  Christ  Church,  the  best  public  table  in 
North  Carolina,  where  as  true  a  band  of  single  gentlemen  as 
were  then  extant  on  the  south  side  of  the  Potomac,  daily  dis- 
cussed ham  and  turkey,  or  venison  and  jelly,  in  the  identical 
hall  where  once  convened  the  venerable  Senate,  constituted  by 
the  King  to  legislate  for  the  colony.  An  extract  from  some 
rattling  and  amusing  rhymes  of  Mr.  Stephen  M.  Chester,  in 
1818,  will  pleasantly  picture  some  of  the  surroundings: 

Academy. 
"But  turn  we  to  the  classic  school, 
Where  science  holds  her  transient  rule, 
Where  culture  trims  the  tender  shoot. 
And  grafts  the  stock  with  future  fruit  : 
The  mausion  daily  gathers  there 
Two  hundred  minds  its  smiles  to  share, 
Though  architecture  has  not  spread 
Her  splendors  round  the  tyro's  head. 

Jail. 
•'The  jail  I  well-nigh  had  forgotten, 
In  truth  the  fabric's  almost  rotten  ; 
The  doughty  prisoners  get  out 
Once  every  month,  or  thereabout  I 
And  every  convict  for  Jack  Ketch 
The  poor  militia  have  to  watch. 

PoiilCEMEN. 

•'Tis  true  the  town  guard  every  night 
Consists  of  four  good  '  gemmen  white,' 
But  should  you  seek  its  cautious  keepers. 
You'd  find  them  snoring  'mong  the  sleepers. 


112  PALMY  DAYS. 1818. 

PlIiLOEY. 
"The  stocks  and  pillory  hard  by- 
Have  witEessed  mauy  a  piteous  cry, 
And  many  a  sable  back  has  smarted 
With  comfort  from  the  lash  imparted. 

Distilleries. 

"Along  the  banks  where  Trent  and  Neuse 
Their  sparkling  waters  wide  diffuse, 
Industrious  art  rears  other  piles, 
And  growing  wealth  its  toil  beguiles. 
There,  from  a  hundred  stills  dispensed, 
Spirits  of  pine  are  fast  condensed ; 
Beneath  that  fabric  rude  and  large. 
The  fiercest  mastiffs  guard  their  charge 
Of  various  hides  for  leather  steeped. 
In  vats  with  bark  astringent  heaped. 

Rope  Walks. 

"The  narrow  house  which  there  protrudes 
Its  awkward  length  for  many  roods. 
Shelters  the  twisting  rope  that  forms 
The  cable  to  contend  with  storms ; 
Here  the  strong  screw  expresses  oil 
The  griping  cholera  to  foil ; 
And  there  from  grain  its  essence  flows, 
A  lethe  for  unnumbered  woes. 

Inhabitants. 

"  The  people  of  this  curious  town 
Are  of  all  hues,  black,  white,  and  brown,. 
And  not  a  clime  beneath  the  moon 
But  here  may  find  some  wandering  loon. 
Welsh,  Irish,  English,  French,  and  Dutch, 
Norwegians,  Portuguese,  and  Scotch, 
And  other  aliens,  claim  attention. 
Whose  very  names  would  tire  to  mention. 
Each  State  is  also  represented. 
Some  satisfied,  some  discontented  ; 
A  host  of  Yankies,  'mong  the  rest, 
Like  birds  of  passage  build  their  nest^ 
And  having  wasted  all  the  land. 
Fly  off  to  some  more  distant  strand. 


CHDKCHE8. 


113 


"  Such  is  the  picture  fresh  from  nature, 
And  true,  I  thiuk,  in  every  feature  ; 
Drawn  to  amuse,  perchance  to  tease  you  ; 
This  is  New  Bern,  how  does  't  please  you?" 

Uii6iglitly  and  uncared-for  small  tenements  marred  tlie  town 
more  then  perhaps  than  now.  But  a  spirit  of  improvement 
was  beginning,  it  may  be  partly  from  rhyming  satire;  and  one 
of  the  fruits  of  it  was  the  brick  Bank  of  the  State  (^f  North 
Carolina,  soon  followed  by  its  rival,  the  Bank  of  New  Bern. 

The  churches  were  in  shal)by  condition.     Our  poet  says: 

EpiscoPAii  Chuech, 

"A  church  of  George  the  2d'8  reign 
Still  flings  its  shadow  o'er  the  plain. 
But  mouldering  on  its  ancient  base, 
Must  soon  resign  its  resting  place. 

Methodist  CnrRCH. 

"  Next  comes  a  house  without  a  name — 
To  that  of  church  it  has  no  claim, 
And  yet  the  long  misshapen  pile 
Contains  a  throng  'twixt  either  aisle, 
And  in  the  galleries  perch'd  above. 
To  join  in  prayer  and  feasts  of  love ; 
Its  various  worshijjers  can  tell 
Why  they  reject  a  spire  or  bell. 

Baptist  Church. 

"The  Baptist  Barn  comes  next  to  view 
Where  winter  winds  turn  noses  blue. 
And  shiv'riug  devotees  retire 
Eight  glad  from  worship  to  tbe  fire  : 
But  Presbyterians  in  tlie  lurch, 
Too  poor,  or  mean,  to  build  a  clturch. 
Are  glad  to  find  admittance  here 
When  its  own  priests  don't  interfere." 

Bev.  Mr.  Campbell  was  an  eloquent  anil  popular  preacher. 
Traditions  linger  here  still  of  his  great  power  as  an  orator.     He 


114  PRESBYTEKIANISM  IN  NEW  BERN. 

was  also  an  enterprising  gentleman,  and  liad  a  valuable  coadju- 
tor in  Mr.  Chester.  He  and  Mr,  Meredith,  the  able  Baptist 
preacher,  used  alternately  the  "Old  Baptist  Church."  I  quote 
again  the  contemporary  Mr.  Chester :  "  The  Baptist  Barn  "  was 
at  that  time  the  established  patronymic  of  the  nutshell  that 
subsequently  became  the  present  pretty  church  of  that  denomi- 
nation. It  was  unglazed,  and  wholly  destitute  of  casements ; 
had  nothing  l)ut  plain  shutters  to  exclude  the  winds  of  heaven, 
which  were  of  course  necessarily  admitted  with  the  light.  The 
framework  of  the  gallery  was  an  unclothed  skeleton  of  bones. 
The  whole  interior  of  the  building  without  any  lining  to  its  tim- 
bers, and  four-legged  benches  all  the  accommodation  in  the  shape 
of  seats  afforded  by  the  unfurred,  unceiled,  unplastered  and  un- 
painted  edifice." 

"Notwithstanding  its  rude  state,  however,  it  long  furnished 
to  the  Baptist  and  Presb^^terian  societies  alternate  opportunity 
to  worship  God ;  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell  and  the  Eev.  Mr. 
Meredith  officiated  interchangeably  in  the  apology  for  a  pulpit. 
The  favor  of  the  Presbyterians,  thus  propitiated,  contributed 
not  a  little  to  the  gradual  transformation  of  the  building  to  its 
present  neat  and  comfortable  shape."  Tlie  two  congregations 
united  in  renovating  the  "barn." 

In  the  newspaper-carrier's  address  on  New  Year,  1819,  writ- 
ten by  Mr.  Chester,  allusion  is  made  satirically'  to  "  buhhles 
ixirsV^  in  the  past  twelve  months.  One  was  the  steamhoat 
admiration  and  expectation,  when  the  steamer  Norfolk  arrived 
to  establisli  a  route  to  Elizabeth  City,  and  so  North  and  South ; 
and 

"  Hundreds  flocked  down  to  see  the  wonder, 
In  spite  of  rain  and  even  thunder  ; 
And  such  their  rapture  to  possess  it, 
'Twas  not  in  language  to  express  it. " 

In  three  short  months  the  golden  dreams  failed,  and  the  Nor- 
folk was  sold. 

"  Then  building  churches  was  the  theme, 
The  tottering  old  one  urg'd  the  scheme ; 


PUBLIC  MEETING.  115 

And  Presbyterians,  who  had  none, 
Were  certainly  in  need  of  one. 
'Twas  wonderful  to  mark  the  zeal 
Each  congregation  seemed  to  feel ; 
Devotion  saw  its  altar  rise, 
As  if  by  magic,  to  the  skies  ; 
Tho'  both  the  noble  piles  were  finished, 
The  stock  continued  undiminished, 
For  lo !  the  pews  were  sold  for  more 
Thau  tlie  whole  churches  cost  before ; — 
All  this  bad  castle-building  done, 
Yet  avarice  has  not  yet  begun. 
And  much  I  fear  our  niggard  place 
Has  not,  and  never  will  have  grace 
To  look  above  the  narrow  views 
Ascribed  to  infidels  and  Jews." 

Thus  the  church  huhhle  seemed  to  burst.  Presbyterians,  how- 
ever, evidently  felt  the  importance  of  securing  a  churcli  of 
their  own;  had  probably  increased  in  numbers  and  ability; 
were  aroused  by  occasional  satires;  and  had  now  a  capable  and 
popular  leader  in  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell.  Hence,  I  am  not  sur- 
prised to  find  in  the  "  Carolina  Centhiel^  New  Bern^  October  17, 
1818,"  the  following 

"NOTICE. 

"These  persons  disposed  to  unite  themselves  as  a  Presbyterian  con- 
gregation in  this  place,  are  requested  to  meet  at  the  court-house  at  three 
o'clock  this  afternoon,  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  said  society  by  the 
appointment  of 

"  Tkustees. 

"  There  are  other  important  objects,  which  will  be  fully  explained  at 
the  place  of  meeting ;  and  it  is  earnestly  requested  that  all  who  wish  to 
be  considered  members  of  said  congregation,  or  are  willing  to  lend  their 
aid  in  support  of  its  worship,  will  attend. — Oct.  17." 

Mr.  Chester  says  this  "was  the  first  meeting  ever  assembled 
in  the  place  regularly  to  organize  a  Presbyterian  congregation.''^ 
How  to  reconcile  this  statement  witli  that  given  already  from 
the  Minutes  of  the  Presl»ytery,  in  the  keeping  of  Mr.  Wither- 
spoon,  dues  not  at  this  distance  appear.  No  record  of  the 
action  of  the  meeting — called  above — lias  been  found. 


116  PUKCHASE  OF  LOT. 

In  the  earlier  movement  to  assist  the  Baptists  in  finishing 
their  church  near  Cedar  Grove  Cemetery,  Mr.  Chester  had  been 
efficient.  He  was  especially  zealous  and  lielpful  in  now  advising 
and  assisting  to  raise  funds  to  erect  the  church  edifice  used  by 
our  people  to-da}'.  Then,  as  since,  the  ladies  must  have  been 
faithful  and  fruitful  in  godly  labors,  for  Mrs.  Minor  is  said  to 
have  headed  the  subscription  list,  and  her  efforts  and  interest 
were  so  great,  that  Dr.  Hawes,  the  ruling  elder,  used  to  call  it 
*^ Mrs.  Minor''' s  Churchr 

'^\xxx\\tx%t^  of  Xot* 

Trustees  were  doubtless  elected  at  the  meeting  held  in  the 
court-house;  and  in  1819  they  bought  the  premises  on  which 
the  church  stands  from  Mr.  Edward  Graham  for  $1,200.  (See 
particulars  under  "  Property  Data,"  page  179.)  Ground  sold  at 
large  prices  then  apparently.  This  lot  is  located  on  IS'ew  (now 
Neuse)  Street,  between  Hancock  and  Middle. 

Wednesday.,  the  ^th  day  of  June^  1819,  loas  the  memorable 
time  when  the  corner-stone  of  the  first  Presbyierian  Church  in 
New  Bern,  N.  C,  vxis  laid.  Judge  James  H.  Hutchins,  now 
a  ruling  elder  in  Austin,  Texas,  was  raised  and  then  living  in 
New  Bern.  He  attended  the  Sabbath-school  when  it  was  held 
in  the  lower  East-room  of  the  "  New  Bern  Academy  "  as  early 
as  1819.  He  told  me  that  the  Church  had  a  meeting  in  that 
room  on  the  day  above  named,  and  came  thence  in  the  after- 
noon to  lay  this  corner-stone. 

Fortunately  I  am  able,  from  an  old  copy  of  the  "  Carolina 
Centinel,  New  Bern,  June  12th,  1819,"  to  give  an  account  of 
this  interesting  event,  and  present  the  handsome  address  made 
on  the  occasion  by  Be  v.  J.  Nicholson  Campbell.- 

From  the  Carolina  Centinel,  Newbern,  June  12th,  1819: 

"  The  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  in  this  place 
have  commenced  the  erection  of  a  House  of  Worship,  to  be  70 
feet  in  length  and  52  in  breadth,  and  capable,  by  computation, 


FIRST     1  KES15YTEKIAN     CHURCH,     NEW     HERN. 


ADDRESS  ON  LAYING  FOUNDATION.  117 

of  accommodating  800  persons.     We  have  been  favored  by  a 
friend  with  the  following  notice  on  the  subject: 

"  On  Wednesda}^  evening  last,  the  interesting  ceremony  of  lay- 
ing tlie  foundation  corner-stone  of  the  iirst  Presbyterian  Meet- 
ing-IIouse  in  Newi)ein,  took  place  in  pi'esence  of  a  respectable 
concourt-e  of  citizens.  The  Keverend  J.  Nicholson  Campbell 
officiated  in  the  religit)us  services  of  the  occasion.  After  a  pre- 
fatory comment  on  the  duty  of  Christian  Associations  to  invoke 
the  favor  of  Heaven  upon  all  their  undertakings,  he  addressed 
the  Throne  of  Grace  in  prayer,  imploring  the  Almighty  to 
vouchsafe  his  blessing  upon  the  commencement  of  the  work, 
and  the  continuance  of  his  smiles  on  its  prosecution  until  it 
should  be  completed ;  a  lit  Temple  for  his  praise.  The  corner- 
stone was  then  deposited  by  the  Master  Masons  present,  and 
the  solemnities  concluded  with  the  following  address: 

"  Brethren  :  But  a  few  centuries  have  elapsed  since  our  coun- 
try was  discovered  by  an  enterprising  European.  We  are  all 
acquainted  with  the  long  period  of  darkness,  during  which  it 
had  remained  unknown  to  the  civilized  inhabitants  of  the 
Eastern  Continent,  and  we  all  know  how  short  an  interval  has 
succeeded  the  interruption  of  its  obscurity;  yet,  when  we  look 
around  us,  we  are  t-carcely  able  to  believe  that  so  few  years 
have  passed  since  the  foot  of  Columbus  first  trod  the  shores  of 
our  happy  land.  It  seems  but  yesterday,  in  the  annals  of  the 
world,  that  our  fathers  fled  from  religious  persecution  in  their 
native  country,  and  conmiitting  themselves  to  all  the  dangers 
of  the  ocean,  steered  for  a  more  propitious  clime,  in  which  they 
might  erect  new  altars,  and  adore  their  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  consciences,  and  none  'to  molest  or  make 
afraid.' 

"Brethren,  how  wonderful  has  been  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion since  that  auspicious  era!  Who,  at  this  moment,  when  the 
discoverer  of  America  first  beheld,  with  rejoicing  eyes,  the  rude 
and  native  grandeur  of  the  Western  world,  would  have  ven- 
tured to  predict  that  in  a  period  so  short,  changes  so  vast,  and 
to  our  enterprise  so  honorable,  could  possibly  occur?  Our  fa- 
8 


118  ADDRESS  ON  LAYING  FOUNDATION. 

thers  trod  its  shores,  and  the  desert  seemed  to  retire  at  their 
approacli.  The  sound  of  the  adze  was  heard,  and  the  habita- 
tions of  civilized  men  arose  in  the  solitary  wilderness.  Almost 
as  by  the  magic  power  of  charm,  the  trackless  forest  was  swept 
away,  and  the  crowded,  busy,  bustling  city  occupied  its  room. 
Almost  as  by  miracle,  the  idle  plains  of  this  peaceful  continent 
were  furrowed  by  the  ploughshare,  and  the  fruitful  crop  sprung 
forth  to  reward  the  labor  of  the  husbandman.  Where  glitter 
yonder  spires,  as  it  would  seem  but  yesterday  the  towering 
trees  of  the  forest  waved  their  lofty  heads.  Where  now  one 
notices  the  pursuits  of  active  commerce,  but  yesterday  the  sav- 
age tenants  of  the  woods  pursued  the  pleasure  of  the  chase. 
Where  now,  within  the  limits  of  our  sight,  are  heard,  at  stated 
periods,  the  strains  of  heavenly  melody  to  the  worship  of  Jeho- 
vah, but  yesterday  was  heard  the  whoop  to  battle  or  the  yell  of 
Indian  carnage.  And  where  this  day  we  have  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  House  of  God,  but  yesterday  was  erected  the  altar 
of  a  demon,  and  in  his  honor  was  the  blood  of  human  victims 
shed. 

"Brethren,  'no  one  knoweth  what  a  day  may  bring  forth.' 
Who  among  our  number,  even  one  year  ago,  would  have  pre- 
sumed to  stand  upon  the  place  which  I  now  occupy,  and  assert 
that  on  this  day  we  would  here  commence  the  building  of  this 
house?  And  yet  not  only  are  we  indulging  this  privilege,  but 
other  denominations,  of  the  same  universal  Church,  have  been 
excited  to  new  diligence  in  the  same  holy  cause ;  and  ere  long 
we  may  hope  that  in  this  place  the  sun  will  shine  on  four  tem- 
ples  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  our  common  God.  Is  not  this 
an  animating  prospect?  And  sliould  it  not  warn  you  to  un- 
wearied diligence  in  the  execution  of  the  work  you  have  com- 
menced? Yes,  brethren,  proceed  but  in  the  fear  of  God,  and 
he  will  not  leave  unfinished  his  own  w^ork ;  and  by  his  mighty 
power  shall  you  be  enabled  to  elevate  its  topmost  spire  with 
long  and  echoed  shouts  of  praise. 

"  Brethren,  some  have  thought  it  honorable,  with  a  desolat- 
ing army  to  ravage  neighboring  States,  and  to  reduce  to  the 
condition  of  vassals  the  haughty  monarchs  of  a  hostile  land; 


ADDRESS  ON  LAYING  FOUNDATION.  119 

others  have  deemed  it  glory  to  erect  g-orgeons  paLaces  and  no- 
ble buildings  for  the  adorning  of  their  country,  and  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  its  citizens;  and  others,  with  much  more  reason, 
have  thought  their  characters  exalted  by  promoting  the  com- 
fort of  their  fellow-nicn,  and  by  endowing  institutions  to  ame- 
liorate the  circumstances  of  tlie  miserable.  But  how  much 
more  honorable — how  truly  noble  is  it — to  he  engaged  in  a  de- 
sign which  has  for  its  end  the  promotion  of  God's  glory !  If 
jou  are  desirous  of  distinctions,  here  is  the  work  which  shall 
bestow  upon  you  all  that  you  can  ask — even  the  distinction  of 
assisting  to  ei'ect  his  altars  who  is  the  Eternal  Sovereign  of  the 
universe.  If  you  are  ambitious  of  immortal  honor,  here  is  the 
labor  in  which  you  should  be  employed;  for  when  the  achieve- 
ment of  a  C*sar  and  a  Napoleon  shall  be  buried  in  oblivion, 
and  wlien  the  palaces  and  capitals  of  Europe  and  America  shall 
smoulder  in  the  blazing  ruins  of  the  world,  this  deed,  the  build- 
ing of  a  temple  to  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  shall  stand  recorded  in  the 
annals  of  Heaven's  empire,  and  be  emblazoned  in  the  indestruc- 
tible, the  eternal  columns  of  the  skies. 

"Brethren,  the  prospect  before  us  is  one  of  the  most  exalted 
nature,  and  it  should  cheer  and  animate  our  hearts.  This  day, 
if  we  look  around  us,  may  we  behold,  erected  and  erecting,  the 
temples  of  Jehovah  in  the  sands  of  Carolina — those  sands  from 
wliicli  is  hardly  yet  effaced  the  track  of  the  wild  beast,  or  the 
pursuing  footsteps  of  its  hunter,  scarcely  less  ferocious.  This 
day,  if  we  will  listen,  we  may  hear  the  anthems  of  God's  praise 
floating  on  that  air  which,  a  little  while  since,  was  rent  with 
the  hideous  cries  of  the  savage,  as  he  celebrated  the  orgies  of 
idolatry.  If,  brethren,  our  country  lias  thus  been  visited,  let 
the  past  demonstrate  to  us  that  the  truth  proclaimed  in  the  Re- 
velation of  God  is  not  impossible — that  all  nations  shall  be 
visited  w^ith  salvation.  Oh !  yes.  I  anticipate  the  time,  and 
my  heart  l)ounds  at  the  prospect,  in  which  the  blessings  of  a 
preached  Gospel  siiall  be  extended  from  the  rising  to  the  set- 
ting of  the  sun,  and  from  the  Northern  to  the  Southern  Pole. 
I  anticipate  the  blissful  period  in  which  Asia  and  Ethiopia 
shall  stretch  forth  their  hands  to  God,  and  in  which  the  songs 


120  ADKRESS  ON  LAYING  FOUNDATION. 

of  Zion  shall  arise  to  the  Almighty  from  the  Eastern  to  the 
Western  Continents.  I  look  forward  to  the  speedy  arrival  of 
that  day  in  which  all  peoples,  and  kindreds,  and  nations,  and 
tongues  shall  send  one  general  Hallelujah  to  the  skies.  No, 
brethren,  the  period  is  not  far  distant  in  which  the  idolatrous 
nations  of  the  East  will  relinquish  their  superstitions,  toss  their 
idols  to  the  moles  and  bats,  and  worship  the  true  God,  whom 
to  know  is  eternal  life.  Ere  long  the  Crescent  shall  fade  away 
before  the  Sun  of  Eighteousness,  and  the  Temple  of  the  cruci- 
fied Nazarene  be  erected  on  the  ruins  of  the  mosque.  Ere 
long  the  idols  of  the  Brahmin  shall  totter  before  the  ark  of  the 
Lord,  and  in  the  sanctuary  of  their  worship  shall  be  proclaimed 
the  truths  of  Holy  "Writ.  And  ere  long  shall  the  Jews  be  brought 
in  with  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  and  the  enlightened  de- 
scendants of  the  patriarchs  worship  the  King  of  Glory,  whom 
their  blinded  fathers  slew. 

"Brethren,  suffer  me,  before  I  close  my  address,  to  remind 
you  that  the  blessings,  which  with  such  pleasure  we  anticipate 
shall  flow  to  other  nations,  already  belong  to  us ;  and  while  I 
call  to  your  recollection  tliis  truth,  permit  me  to  beseech  you 
that  you  will  endeavour  to  improve  them.  Yain  is  it  to  build 
a  house  for  God's  worship,  so  far  as  your  salvation  is  con- 
cerned, unless  you  also  be  builded  together,  a  spiritual  temple 
in  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  not  by  bowing  in  adoration  to  the 
Almighty  at  liis  earthly  altar,  that  we  are  to  be  saved ;  but  it 
is  by  elevating  our  hearts  to  his  throne,  and  adoring  him  in 
the  beauty  and  perfection  of  holiness.  And  oh !  my  beloved, 
if  we  are  enal)led  thus  to  serve  him  in  the  temple  we  erect 
with  our  ow^n  hands  to  his  honor,  we  shall  be  admitted,  after 
we  shall  have  closed  our  eyes  for  ever  on  the  world  and  all  its 
objects,  to  adore  him  in  his  own  habitation,  in  the  temple  not 
made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens.  And  after  the  de- 
stroying power  of  time  shall  have  mouldered  all  the  works 
of  mortals  to  the  dust,  and  when  tlie  earth  and  its  old  pillars 
totter  to  their  base,  we  shall  triumphantly  soar  above  the  fu- 
neral pile  of  nature,  and  reign  forever  in  unchanging  glory. 
God  grant  that  this  may  be  the  happy  consummation  of  our 


CONTKACTOR. 


121 


toils;  mid  may  the  Messing  of  Jehovali,  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  rest  on  all  of  you  for  ever.     Amen." 

3Fxfiiiming  i\\t  Corner  Stone* 

It  was  thought  that  the  exact  early  history  of  the  Church 
could  he  recovered  hy  digging  up  the  corner-stone,  and  getting 
the  docmnents  \vhich  are  usually  deposited  in  it  on  such  occa- 
sions. Accordingly,  after  much  searching  and  labor,  it  was 
found  at  the  south-east  corner,  the  front  of  the  church,  and  at 
the  boUovi  of  the  corner  brick  pillar.  It  was  of  red  sand-stone, 
such  as  was  used  about  the  "Palace;"  in  dimensions,  two  feet 
by  one,  and  three  to  four  inches  thick.  But  to  our  great  dis- 
appointment, there  was  no  inscription  of  any  sort  on  it,  nor 
any  excavation  in  it  for  the  slightest  record.  Neither  could 
any  buried  box  or  bottle  be  discovered  l)y  probing  the  ground 
beneath.  So  we  builded  it  back  where  we  found  it,  and  as  we 
found  it — blank.  But  a  place  was  left  at  the  top  of  the  pil- 
lar for  the  future  placing  of  a  stone  with  suitable  inscription 
and  contents. 

Contractor* 

The  contractor  and  builder  of  the  church  was  Mr.  Uriah 
Sandy.  He  was  assisted  by  Mr.  John  Dewey  and  Mr.  Martin 
Stevenson.  Mr.  Dewey's  son,  Charles,  was  one  of  the  trustees, 
a  member  of  this  church,  and  afterwards  a  ruling  elder  in  the 
Raleigh  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a  prominent  bank  officer  in 
that  city.  Mr.  Stevenson's  son,  Martin,  became  a  ruling  elder 
in  this  church,  and  was  active  and  useful. 

Incidents* 

While  the  church  was  building,  two  cards  appeared  in  the 
newspaper,  which  showed  that  some  people  will  whisper  dis- 
agreeable things,  and  that  in  all  ages  little  annoyances  will  nuir 
peaceful  scenes  awhile.  But  they  soon  pass  away,  and  we  too, 
and  so  they  can  be  laughed  at.  The  first  shows  a  "hitch" 
about  the 


122  .  INCIDENTS. 

"SINGERS. 

"The  singers  of  the  Presbyterian  congregation  are  respectfully  in- 
formed, that  in  consequence  of  an  injunction,  or  more  properly  a  menace 
of  injunction  against  their  meeting  at  the  Academy,  they  will  hereafter 
be  better  accommodated  at  Mrs.  Emory's  long  room,  the  use  of  which  has 
with  characteristic  liberality  been  gratuitously  offered  them.  Weather 
and  other  circumstances  permitting,  they  will  meet  hereafter  on  Wednes- 
day evening  until  further  notice.  The  singers  of  sister  societies  are  cor- 
dially invited  to  attend  on  these  occasions,  as  a  union  of  exertion,  on 
the  part  of  the  different  choirs  in  cur  little  village,  will  conduce  much 
more  to  general  improvement  than  is  possible  by  different  efforts. 

''  Febntary  1Q>,  1822." 

In  reply  to  this  appeared 

"A  CARD. 

"The  singers  of  the  congregation  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  are  re- 
spectfully informed,  that  they  are  not  menaced  with  an  injunction  against 
meeting  in  the  Academy,  nor  are  they  more  than  singers  in  other  congre- 
gations prevented  from  assembling  in  that  building ;  but  the  trustees  of 
the  New  Bern  Academy,  taking  into  consideration  the  dangers  of  fire 
from  night  meetings,  thought  it  expedient,  some  time  ago,  to  pass  a 
resolution  forbidding  the  holding  in  the  Academy  night  meetings  of 
every  description.  They  were  more  especially  induced  to  this  measure, 
because  it  was  fresh  in  their  recollection,  that  one  academy  had  been 
burnt  in  consequence  of  night  meetings ;  and  that  it  had  cost  much 
money  to  the  institution  to  erect  another.  They  wished  to  avoid  all 
danger.  This  resolution  had  recently  been  disregarded,  and  at  the  last 
meeting  of  the  Board,  the  proper  officer  was  instriacted  to  give  notice  of 
it,  and  see  that  it  was  carried  into  effect.  This  explanation  is  given  to 
prevent  the  malicious  effects,  which  the  publication  in  the  last  Centinel 
is  evidently  intended  to  produce. 

"New  Been,  Feb'y  20,  1822." 

Another  report  brought  out  the  following  vindication  of 
Baptist  liberality.  It  is  said  to  have  been  written  by  Judge 
Gaston,  while  sitting  on  the  bench  in  the  Court-house,  at  the 
request  of  Mr.  Clark,  who  stated  to  him  what  he  wished  to 
say: 

"A  CARD. 

"Being  again  informed  by  respectable  friends  of  a  report  in  circulation 
that  the  Presbyterian  clergy  are  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  preaching 
in  the  Baptist  meeting-house,  and  that  I  am  the  principal  cause,  I  feel 
it  a  duty  I  owe  the  church  to  which  I  am  attached  to  contradict  it  in  the 


COMPLETION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  123 

most  distinct  terms.  It  is  true  no  other  than  our  owu  minister  bas 
preached  iu  our  meeting-house  for  some  time  past,  but  it  is  because 
others  have  not  asked  the  privilege.  This  is  intended,  however,  barely 
to  contradict  a  report  known  by  the  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Chiu-ch 
not  to  be  true  ;  and  to  remove  any  improper  impression  it  may  have  left 
on  the  minds  of  others,  and  those  perhaps  who  may  have  been  the  most 
liberal  towards  us.  Our  meeting-house,  when  not  iu  the  immediate  use 
of  our  own  minister,  has  been  at  all  times  open  (on  proper  application 
being  made)  to  the  clergy  of  every  Christian  sect;  and  in  ihis  instance, 
on  either  the  morning  or  evening  of  each  Sabbath,  our  own  minister  has 
been  willing  to  give  place  to  another. 

"Elijah  Ci/Ark, 
"New  Bern,  Jan'y  Vith,  1821." 

onomplotton  of  \\\^  it\\uvt\\. 

Doubtless  desire  was  stimulated  by  these  things  for  the 
speedy  finishing  of  the  bnilding.     Mr.  Chester  says: 

"Its  erection  i-edeeined  the  character  of  tlie  sect  from  the 
poet's  reckless  charge  of  poverty  or  meanness ;  and  its  com- 
pletion in  ^omct/ii)ig  like  a  twelve  viontli  proved  triumphantly 
to  the  public  tlie  injustice  of  the  sneers  of  Jonathan  Prit^e  and 
John  Stanly,  who  l)oth  said  they  had  no  wish  to  live  any  longer 
than  till  it  was  finished.  They  both  outlived  the  limits  of  their 
impious  wish,  and  have  been  long  since  gathered  to  their  fa- 
thers. The  enterprise  of  the  Presbyterians,  and  the  thriving 
indications  of  the  Baptists,  roused  the  slumbering  spirit  of  the 
Episcopalians,  and  the  propliccy  of  the  poet  was  soon  realized 
in  the  demolition  of  their  ancient  place  of  worship,  and  the 
erection  of  a  new  and  far  more  modern,  spacious,  and  expen- 
sive one." 

The  colonial  Episcopal  Church  referred  to  was  then  stand- 
ing in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  glebe,  enclosed  by  a  tight 
board  fence,  six  feet  high.  The  new  bnilding  was  completed 
by  Bennet  Planner  in  1824.  It  was  afterwards  burned  on 
Tuesday  evening,  10th  January,  1871,  and  rebuilt  as  at  present 
it  appears.  The  new  Baptist  Church  on  Middle  street  was  first 
used  and  dedicated  on  Simday,  2d  July,  1848.  The  Methodist 
Chnrch  on  Xew  street  was  built  in  1842-43. 

Mr.  Chester  speaks  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  being  com- 


124:  DEDICATION. 

pleted  in  little  more  than  a  year.  His  memory  must  be  at 
fault.  Mr.  Clark's  card  proves  that  it  was  not  ready  for  wor- 
ship in  January,  1821.  No  documents  are  obtainable  to  show 
the  exact  date  of  completion.  A  private  diary,  kept  by  Catha- 
rine G.  Stanbj,  a  colored  member  of  the  congregation,  ])nt  un- 
fortunately onl}'  beginning  1st  January,  1822,  gives  the  exact 
date  of  the 

dedication. 

She  writes,  January  6th,  1822,  "Sabbath  evening:  To-day 
the  Presbyterian  Church  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God; 
a  very  interesting  and  appropriate  discourse  delivered  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hatch  ;  again  I  have  been  blessed  with  the  privilege 
of  hearing  the  Word  of  God  faithfully  preached."  This  is  the 
first  notice  of  Mr.  Hatch's  ministrations  to  this  Church,  though 
he  was  ordained  the  September  previous.  It  is  probable  that 
the  Church  was  finished  in  the  latter  part  of  1821.  The  cost 
of  the  building  was  $7,000.  Many  in  the  community,  who  were 
not  connected  with  the  Church  or  congregation,  kindly  assisted 
in  the  erection  of  this  House  of  God.  Thus,  too,  some  pews 
were  owned  by  subscribers  to  the  building  fund,  who  were  not 
members  of  the  congregation.  The  following  notice  appeared 
in  the  "  Centhiel :'' 

"  DEDICATION." 

"  The  new  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  place  will  be  dedicated, 
with  divine  permission,  on  Sunday,  the  sixth  of  January.  The  pub- 
lic are  respectfull}^  invited  to  attend. 

"New  Bern,  December  Idth,  1821." 

Soon  afterwards  was  issued  this  announcement : 

"  The  people  are  respectfully  informed  that  the  Presbyterian 
Church  will  be  opened  for  religious  worship  on  the  next  Lord's 
Day,  20th  January,  1822.  The  exercises  will  commence  at  the 
usual  hour,  and  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  will  be  admin- 
istered during  service  in  the  morning. 

"  No  appropriation  of  the  pews  having  yet  been  made,  the  whole 
wiU  continue  open  for  public  use.     The  four  largest  next  the  door 


SALE  OF  PEWS.  125 

are  intended  to  be  hereafter  reserved  expressly  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  strangers  and  visitors  from  sister  congregations,  and  are 
■designated  for  the  piu-pose  by  a  suitable  inscription  on  each  door. 
"New  Bern,  January  Vdth,  1822." 

A  f'^w  days  later  came  oat  this 

"NOTICE." 

"  The  pews  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  will  be  publicly  offered 
for  sale  or  rent  on  Monday,  the  28th  instant,  at  4  o'clock  P.  M.,  on 
the  premises. 

"  Notes  with  approved  security,  payable  in  installments  at  six, 

twelve,  and  eighteen  months,  will  be  required  in  payment  for  the 

fee  simple — and  similar  at  twelve  months  for  the  rent. 

"  By  order  of  the  Board, 

"  S.  M.  Chester,  Sec'y. 

"  Saturday,  January  2Gt/i,  1822." 

These  pews  were  sold  at  various  prices ;  tlie  centre  ones 
ranged  from  $300  to  $350,  and  the  side  pews,  from  $150  to 
$200,  according  to  situation.  Subscribers  purchased  to  the 
amount  of  their  subscriptions.  Some  owned  several  pews. 
Printed  deeds  were  given,  in  wliich  it  was  stated  that  eacli  pew 
was  subject  to  a  tax,  according  to  its  valuation,  for  the  support 
of  the  ministry.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  one  as  its  blanks 
were  originally  filled  : 

"STATE    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA 

"This  indenture,  made  this  28th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  twenty-two,  between  the  7Vustees  of  the 
Presbyterian  Congregation  q/  Neio  Bern,  of  the  one  part,  and 
Elias  Hav;es  of  the  same  place,  of  the  other  part,  witnesseth : — that, 
for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  three  hundred  and  ffty-six 
dollars  to  the  said  Trustees,  before  the  sealing  and  delivery  of  these 
presents,  paid  by  the  said  ^Has  Ilawes,  the  payment  whereof  the 
said  Trustees  do  hereby  acknowledge,  and  thereof  acquit  the  said 
EUas  Hawes,  they  the  said  Trustees  have  bargained  and  sold,  and 
by  these  presents  do  bargain  and  sell  unto  the  said  JiJlias  Ifaices, 
his  heirs,  and  executors,  a  certain  PEW  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  in   New  Bern;    known   and   distinguished  in  the  origi- 


126  SALE  OF  PEWS. 

nal  sales  of  said  Pews,  and  by  the  numbers  marked  thereon  at  the- 
date  of  these  presents,  by  the  number  4,  to  have  and  to  hold  the 
said  PEW  with  its  ajDj)urtenances ;  subject  to  be  taxed  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  ministry  of  said  Church,  etc.,  by  the  mutual  agreement 
of  a  majority  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  PEWS  of  the  said  Church, 
according  to  an  original  valuation  set  on  said  PEWS  before  the  sale 
thereof,  and  filed  among  the  records  of  the  Congregation,  unto  the 
said  Elias  Havocs,  his  heirs  and  executors.  In  witness  whereof,^ 
the  Trustees  aforesaid  have  hereunto  set  their  hands  and  common 
seal,  the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

"  Sealed  and  delivered  in  "  Elias  Hawes, 

"  presence  of  "  Edwaed  Graham, 

"  Will'm  Harkee.  "  Isaac  Taylor, 

"  John  Jones, 
"  Wm.  Hollister, 
"  Vine  Allen, 
"  Robert  Hay, 
"  S.  M.  Chester, 
"  Robert  Primrose,. 
"  Silvester  Brown, 
"  Ed.  C.  King, 
"  Chas.  Dewey." 

The  accompanying  ground-plan  of  the  pews  with  the  names 
of  the  original  purchasers  was  printed  on  the  deed.  The  stran- 
gers' pews  were  large  square  ones,  with  seats  running  around 
three  sides.     These  have  since  been  altered. 

The  trustees'  seal  was  a  neat  one,  with  an  impression  of  the 
front  of  the  church  in  the  centre, — the  whole  being  about  the 
size  of  a  silver  dollar. 

It  is  worth  while  to  notice  here  the  names  of  Crooni  from 
the  German  Palatine  stock ;  Handcock  and  Jones  from  the 
primitive  Welsh  Quakers  ;  Primrose  and  Hay  from  the  Scotch 
Covenanters. 

A  glance  at  the  constituent  elements  in  this  organization 
will  exhibit  its  standing  in  the  community. 

The  two  elders  first  in  office  were  remarkable  men,  Elias 
Haices,  M.  D. ,  and  Robert  Hay. 


Original  Purchasers  of  Pews. 


i&. 


u.    o 


42.      O 


Frederick  Jones.  41. 


John  Franklin  and  ^^.  E" 

Thos.  Sparrow.  38.      O 


George  Keid.         37. 


Wm.  Handcock.   36.     O      -yV 


35. 


Strangers'  Pews. 


34.  J.  C.  Stanly. 


33.  J.  C.  Stanly. 


O     32. 


31.  Mary  M'Kinlay. 


O     30. 


29.  Silvester  Brown. 


O      28.  Jno.  T.  Boyd. 


27.  George  A.  Hall. 


S.       O     26.  Moses  Bears. 


25.  J.  G.  Cuthbert. 


O     24. 


23. 


J.        o     Strangers'  Pews. 


do. 


do. 


SCALE  OF  VALUATION. 


Nos.   3  to  9,  and  14  to  20,  inclusive,      l<35o 
Nos.   2,  10,  II,  12,  13,  21  and  22,  300 

Nos.   23  to  30,  and  35  to  42,  inclusive,     200 
Nos.   31  to  34,  and  43  to  46,  "  150 


ELIAS  IIAWES,  M.  D.  127 

Dr.  Hawes  came  to  New  Bern  from  the  North  about  1798. 
Physicians  here  kept  and  sold  medicines.  He  owned  the  prin- 
cipal drug-store  in  1822;  it  stood  near  the  corner  of  Hancock 
and  Pollock  streets,  on  the  lot  now  owned  by  Mr.  Thos.  Green. 
He  was  a  man  of  pronounced  and  fervent  piety,  and  active  and 
useful  in  tlie  connimnity.  He  soon  sold  out  his  drug  business, 
and  was  appointed  by  the  County  Court  to  superintend  the 
Poor  House ;  and  he  was  a  true  spiritual  pastor  to  the  suffei-ing 
ones  there.  Dr.  Hawes  seems  to  have  been  a  Latin,  Greek 
and  German  scholar,  and  an  earnest  student  of  his  Bil)le  and 
Catechism,  and  a  faithful,  all-weathers''  attendant  on  religious 
services.  His  wife  was  the  widow  of  Mr.  Benj.  Wood,  who 
had  been  the  teacher  of  the  children  of  Plon.  John  Wright 
Stanly,  and  was  afterward  a  lawyer  at  this  bar.  Anecdotes 
showing  his  peculiarities  linger  with  the  old  citizens.  Once 
he  put  up  this  sign  at  his  drug-store:  ^^ sicks  xoeaks peazs  far 
sail  hear.''''  A  countryman  passing  by  looks  up,  pauses,  and 
asks,  "  What  is  that  ? "  Dr.  Hawes  gravely  replies,  "  Can't  you 
read?"  "Yes."  So  the  man  spells  and  pronounces  the  mysti- 
cal signs,  "six  weeks  peas  for  sale  here,"  and  as  it  seems  plain, 
remarks,  "  AVell,  it  did  not  seem  right ;  but  I  suppose  it  was 
the  graimnar  of  it !  " 

Dr.  Hawes  taught  a  free  school  once  in  New  Bern,  which  is 
said  to  have  been  t\\Q  first  ahsolutely  free  school  in  North  Caro- 
lina. In  the  yard  he  kept  a  pile  of  bricks  and  a  wheel-barrow ; 
and  every  day  he  made  the  children  move  that  pile  in  the 
wheel-barrow  across  the  yard  for  exercise,  and  to  teacli  them 
how  to  work.  He  believed  in  a  manual  labor  system.  One 
day  he  told  the  scholars  that  if  the}'  would  go  to  sleep  for 
twenty  minutes,  he  would  show  them  something  they  had  never 
seen  before.  They  obeyed  to  the  best  of  tlieir  ability!  On  the 
awakening,  he  struck  a  lucifer  match  and  lighted  a  tire ;  it  was 
tlie  first  matcli  ever  seen  by  some,  if  not  all,  as  it  was  a  new 
thing  under  tlie  sun. 

He  was  a  great  temperance  advocate  and  worker;  an  anti-to- 


128  ROBERT  HAT. 

bacconist ;  a  lover  of  music,  and  enthusiastic  in  practicing  with 
any  willing  to  sing ;  a  helper  to  his  pastor,  and  a  praying  man 
in  public  as  well  as  private.  He  was  the  only  elder,  I  think, 
who  attended  Presbytery,  and  he  was  several  times  chosen 
Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  by  the  Presbytery. 
In  1836  the  Presbytery  of  Roanoke  met  in  Washington,  N.  C, 
31st  March.  The  members  had  to  pass  through  ]S"ew  Bern. 
Dr.  Hawes  being  a  delegate,  was  urged  to  secure  his  seat  in 
time  in  the  stage,  but  always  replied  "  I'll  get  there  in  time." 
He  started  on  Wednesday,  30th  March,  and  walked  to  Wash- 
ington, thirty-five  miles,  and  arrived  before  the  stage.  After 
adjournment  of  tlie  Court,  he  footed  it  back  to  New  Bern.  It 
would  be  good  for  the  Church  to  have  more  elders  like  him. 
In  his  old  age  he  was  greatly  reduced  in  pecuniary  matters, 
as  his  accumulations  were  swept  away  in  the  collapse  of  the 
United  States  Bank.  He  attended  Church  twice  on  Sabbath, 
7th  February,  1841,  when  Rev.  Mr.  Owen,  of  Washington, 
]Sr.  C,  preached  in  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  then  went  to  the 
night  prayer-meeting  at  Mr.  Thomas  SjDarrow's.  This  was  his 
last  Sabbath  but  one  here ;  for  on  Wednesday,  17th  February, 
1841,  in  his  seventy-third  year,  he  fell  on  sleep  in  Jesus. 

Was  a  Scotchman,  who  came  to  New  Bern  about  1800.  He 
united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  near  Kelso,  Scotland, 
wlien  about  thiHeen  years  of  age.  His  certificate  of  member- 
ship— brought  to  this  church — is  as  follows : 

"  These  certify  that  the  bearer  hereof,  Robert  Hay,  an  unmarried 
person,  has  lived  in  this  parish  of  Gordon  mostly  from  his  infancy 
until  February  last,  and  removed  free  from  public  scandal  or  ground 
of  church  censure  known  here ;  so  that  he  may  be  received  into  any 
Christian  society  where  his  lot  may  be  cast,  and  partake  of  chm'ch 
privileges  as  found  qualified.  Given  at  Gordon,  this  17th  of  May, 
1786,  by  a  sessional  appointment,  and  subscribed  by 

"Alexk.  Duncan,  Min'r. 

"Wm.  Wilson,  Sess.  Clk." 


ROBERT  IIAY.  129 

His  pious  mother  tenderly  trained  him  in  the  Bihle  and  the 
"Westminster  Catechism;  and  thus  he  was  early  established  in 
sound  principles  of  moral  duty  and  God's  providence.  His 
piety  was  intelligent,  based  on  constant  and  practical  study  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  fed  through  never  ceasing  prayer  to 
and  communion  with  his  God  and  Saviour,  tlie  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  So  it  was  consistent,  uniform,  controlling,  pervading 
his  whole  life,  in  all  its  departments;  and  was  especiall}'  /^OiS-i- 
tive  and Jixcd  in  its  character.  A  martyr  spirit  was  his.  He 
was  a  most  decided  Presbyterian,  with  a  "  thus  saith  the  Lord" 
for  his  faith ;  yet  he  was  no  bigot,  witli  sanctimonious,  up- 
turned-eye Phariseeism  or  boastfulness,  remandin'ji;  all  others 
to  uncovenanted  mercies  of  God,  and  denying  their  Church 
character.  He  fellowsliipped  with  his  brethren  in  a  common 
Saviour,  but  loved  his  own  apostolic  home  the  best.  AVhile 
he  studied  the  peace,  unity,  and  purity  of  the  Church,  he 
^'continually  spoke  to  the  most  worldly,  even  to  infidels  who 
visited  his  shop,"  (and  all,  from  highest  to  lowest,  loved  to 
visit  Father  ILiy,)  of  "the  dear  Saviour  who  gave  his  life  for 
our  sins,"  of  "  that  blessed  Mary  who  chose  the  blessed  part," 
of  "John,  that  gentle,  favored  man,  beloved  of  Christ,"  of 
"Peter,  the  sad,  presumptuous  wight,  depending  on  his  own 
righteousness,  which  was  but  filtliy  rags."  So  Mr.  Stephen 
Miller,  who  knew  iiini,  testifies  and  adds,  that  "a  more  devout 
or  better  man  than  Itohert  ILiy  has  scarcely  lived  on  earth. 
Leading  a  life  of  hard  manual  labor,  his  thoughts  and  com- 
munings seemed  always  to  be  of  heaven."  He  began  here  as 
a  house  builder,  or  finisher  of  the  inner  wood-work;  and  first 
labored  on  the  Harvey  building,  now  the  Central  Hotel ;  after- 
wards he  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  veiiicles  of  all  sorts, 
in  his  shop  near  the  old  Palace. 

His  eye-sight  so  failed  him  in  old  age  that  he  could  only 
read  when  he  sat  in  his  chair  wliere  the  full  blaze  of  the  sun 
could  fall  on  the  sacred  page.  Said  he,  "  If  I  were  an  idolater, 
I  would  worship  the  sun."  So  that  kindred  spirit,  the  good 
Archbishop  Usher,  used  to  follow  the  sun  around  the  house, 
that  he  might  still  commune  with  his  God  in  his  Word.   When 


130  EOBEKT  HAY. 

he  could  not  walk  to  the  hallowed  house  of  God,  he  was  borne 
thither  that  he  might  sit  down  at  the  table  of  his  Saviour. 
Though  he  could  not  hear  a  word,  yet  he  feasted  upon  the 
spiritual  blessings  which  are  sealed  and  applied  to  believers, 
and  rejoiced  in  the  speedy  approach  of  that  day  wlien,  in  tbe 
upper  sanctuary,  he  should,  with  the  blood-washed  throng  from 
every  kindred  and  clime,  partake  of  the  Marriage  Supper  of 
the  Lamb. 

On  the  Lord's  Day  he  gathered  his  family  for  prayer  three 
times,  besides  the  morning  and  evening  hours  of  worship,  and 
much  time  was  spent  in  private  in  his  closet.  Plis  consecra- 
tion to  God  was  eminent  in  all  the  relations  of  a  hallowed  life, 
and  his  integrity  unimpeachable.  An  incident  has  been  told 
me,  that  illustrates  his  stern  nobility.  Through  the  insolvency 
of  a  bank  officer,  for  wdiom  he  was  unfortunately  security,  all 
the  hard  earnings  of  a  long  life  were  swallowed  up.  A  pro- 
minent lawyer,  Mr.  Geo.  Atmore,  his  friend,  and  rej)resenting 
the  universal  sympathy  felt  for  the  honest  and  innocent  victim 
of  this  calamity,  called  on  him  at  his  work-shop.  Mr.  Hay, 
his  head  silvered  by  eighty  winters,  his  body  bowed  by  fail- 
ing vigor,  deep  wrinkles  on  his  brow — full  of  legends  of  care — 
was  industriously  plying  his  toil.  Mr.  Atmore  said  tenderly, 
"This  will  never  do,  Mr.  Hay.  Your  house  at  Least  must  be 
saved.  You  cannot  in  your  old  age  be  deprived  of  a  shelter 
for  yourself  and  family.  We  must  save  your  house."  The 
old  man  seemed  resolute  that  all  should  go.  Pausing  in  his 
work,  thinking,  and  resting  on  his  tools,  he  turns  quickly  to 
the  legal  friend,  and  in  his  broad  Scotch  brogue  says,  "Weel, 
George,  my  mon,  save  my  hoose  if  you  can,  George;  but,  mon, 
save  iuy  eojiscience  first.''''  Lnpressive  picture  for  an  artist! 
Fruit  of  a  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

His  prayers  were  somethnes  too  long.  A  contemporary 
says  of  a  service,  where  an  elder  on  Sabbath  read  a  sermon, 
"  Mr.  Hay  prayed  seventeen  minutes  with  fervor !  A  little 
too  long  for  the  congregation."  But  on  another  Sabbath  (Oc- 
tober 2, 1836),  in  another  Church  he  was  called  on  to  pray,  and 
this  record  appears :  "  Brother  Hay  prayed  so  fervently  after 


JOHN   JONES.  131 

sermon,  as  to  cause  groaning  and  some  shouting  among  the 
blacks,  and  some  knockings  and  amens  among  the  whites." 
His  end  was  peace.  In  view  of  death  he  said,  "I  have  no  fear 
of  dying;  I  shall  never  be  readier.  I  would  die;  my  trust  is 
in  my  glorious  Saviour — in  his  atonen)ent.  It  is  a  wonder  on 
earth,  and  it  shall  be  a  wonder  in  lieaven.  He  is  the  chiefest 
among  ten  thousands.  I  shall  see  him.  I  am  a  poor,  guilty, 
helpless  sinner."  A  few  moments  before  his  death,  when 
racked  with  pain,  he  exclaimed,  "I  must  be  content;  for 
blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord."  Thus  at  the  age 
of  ninety-six,  December  5,  ISoO,  was  translated  one  of  the 
original  thirteen  founders  of  this  Clnirch  on  earth  to  the  Heav- 
enly Jerusalem. 

One  of  the  original  pew-owners,  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Church,  and  after  a  while  also  a  ruling  elder  therein,  died  on 
Saturday  evening,  4th  January,  1840,  aged  seventy-six.  On 
Monday,  6th  January,  after  a  sermon  by  Kev.  D.  Stratton, 
from  Ps.  xc.  10,  in  the  church,  his  remains  were  borne  to  Cedar 
Grove  Cemetery,  the  following  gentlemen  being  the  pall- 
bearers: Kobert  Hay,  Jeremiah  Brown,  Saml.  Oliver,  Jolm 
"VV.  Giiion,  Thos.  Sparrow,  and  Elias  Hawes. 

About  1710,  Roger  and  Evan  Jones,  Quakers,  came  to  North 
Carolina  from  Wales,  and  settled  near  New  Bern,  as  before 
mentioned.  Wliile  these  bi'others  were  burning  a  tarJviln,  they 
were  surprised  by  the  Indians — perhaps  in  the  massacre  of 
1711 — who  caught  Boger,  cut  off  his  head,  and  knocked  it 
around  the  tar-kiln  with  a  stick.  Evan  escaped,  lived,  died, 
and  was  buried  on  his  plantation  on  Clubfoot  and  Hancock 
Creeks,  on  the  south-side  of  Neuse  Biver.  He  married  a 
daugliter  of  Col.  Thomas  Lovick,  the  Collector  of  Customs  at 
Beaufort.  Mr.  Lovick  came  also  from  Wales  with  his  brother 
John.  Mr  John  Jones  was  the  third  of  eleven  children  from 
this  marriage.  He  married  Susaimah  Saunders;  was  an  active 
and  successful  business  man  in  New  Bern,  and  died  respected 
and  honored  in  the  Church  and  community. 
9 


132  JOHN  JONES. 

John  Martin  Franks  has  been  mentioned  as  one  of  the  early 
German  settlers  in  Craven,  As  an  illustration  of  the  sturdy- 
pith  of  these  colonists,  and  the  rough  life  they  were  forced  to 
lead,  this  family  tradition  is  current:  As  the  immigrants  were 
on  their  way  from  the  Trent  Kiver,  as  hereinbefore  described 
— compelled  to  be  their  own  burden  bearers — one  of  the  fe- 
males was  furiously  attacked  by  a  half  grown  bull.  She  was 
carrying  on  her  head  a  medley  of  culinary  utensils,  which 
seemed  to  excite  the  brute's  special  ire,  and  cause  him  incon- 
tinently to  rush  at  her.  But  she  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 
Apparently  endowed  with  strength  like  Peter  Francisco's 
daughters,  she  seized  her  assailant  by  the  horns,  and  twisted 
him  over  on  his  back,  quietly  and  reprovingly  remarking, 
^^ See  that  ugly  calf P"*  Victory  remained  with  her;  young 
"Taurus"  was  satisfied.  Bai'hara,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Franks, 
(was  she  this  heroine  of  tlie  rural  game?)  married  Mr.  Daniel 
SAi?ie,  one  of  the  original  freeholders  reported  in  Craven 
County  in  1723.  When  Gen,  Washington  was  on  his  southern 
tour  in  1791,  they  had  the  honor  of  entertaining  him  at  their 
house.  In  this  section,  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  there 
was  a  desperate  and  fatal  battle  between  a  band  of  Tories  and 
one  of  Whigs,  or  patriots,  in  which  the  latter,  commanded  by 
the  gallant  Capt.  Yates,  gained  a  bloody  success.  The  son  of 
Mr.  Shine,  Col.  Jas.  Sliine,  married  Leah,  a  daughter  of  Capt. 
Yates;  and  in  1819,  at  their  beautiful  and  aristocratic  mansion 
on  their  estate,  President  Monroe,  with  his  distinguished  suite, 
including  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War,  were  en- 
tertained with  splendid  North  Carolina  hospitality.  Hannah 
Ann  Shine,  the  daughter  of  this  marriage,  became  the  wife  of 
Frederick  J.  Jones,  the  son  of  Mr.  John  Jones.  Of  this  m'ar- 
riage  one  of  the  daughters  is  the  wife  of  the  pi-esent  pastor, 
and  another  married  one  of  the  elders,  Mr.  George  Allen. 
This  sketch  is  given,  because  it  shows  how  connections  might 
be  established  between  early  immigrants  and  present  families, 
if  there  were  any  means  of  tracing  them. 


STEPHEN  M.  CHESTER  AND  OTHERS.  133 


Stcpftcn  3U.  Chester  anb  COtftcts* 

Mr.  Chester  wes  a  member  of  an  extensive  shipping  firm — 
Devereux,  Chester  &  Ormc — whose  brick  business  house  has 
been  transformed  into  the  Gaston  House.  He  was  one  of  the 
polislied  leaders  of  social  life,  with  Richard  Dobbs  Spaight, 
F.  L.  Hawks,  and  Geo.  Pollock  Devereux;  possessed  extended 
literary  culture,  and  was  an  earnest  Christian  gentleman,  ^e 
wrote  largely  in  the  newspapers,  and  engaged  in  many  current 
discussions,  but  always  with  elegance  of  scholarship,  the  dig- 
nity of  a  gentleman,  and  the  purity  of  a  Christian.  AVhile  he 
threw  off  many  playful  rhymes,  he  also  wrofe  most  graceful 
poetry  with  classical  taste.  The  following  beautiful  epitaph, 
written  by  him  on  the  death  of  Capt.  W.  Harker,  who  died  in 
1822,  I  copied  from  the  tomb-stone  in  our  cemetery: 

"The  form  that  fills  this  stilly  grave 
Once  toss'd  on  ocean's  roaring  wave ; 
Plung'd  through  its  storms  without  dismay, 
And  careless,  welter'd  in  its  spray  : 
Wreck,  famine,  exile,  scathless  bore, 
Yet  perished  on  this  peaceful  shore. 

"  No  tempest  whelm'd  him  'neath  the  surge; 
No  wailiug  seabird  scream'd  his  dirge  : 
But  fever's  silent,  hidden  flame 
Cousum'd,  by  stealth,  his  hardy  frame; 
And  softly  as  an  infant's  breath. 
He  sank  into  the  arms  of  death. 

"The  weather-beaten  Bark  no  more 
Hangs  shivering  on  a  leeward  shore ; 
But  wafted  by  a  favoring  wind 
Life's  stormy  sea  hath  left  behind. 
And  into  port  securely  pass'd, 
Hath  dropp'd  its  anchor  there  at  last." 

Mr.  Chester  was  a  notable  singer,  with  a  fine  "l)asso"  voice; 
and  around  him  was  gathered  an  etiicient  choir,  in  which  were 
Mr.  Charles  Dewey,  the  two  Misses  Graham,  Miss  Wilkins, 
and  Miss  Mary  Hall,  the  most  beautiful  woman  in  the  city. 


134  MRS.  EUNICE  HUNT. 

He  did  much  to  break  down  old  prejudices  against  steeples, 
bells  and  instrumental  music.  He  afterwards  transferred  his 
business  to  New  York,  where  he  died  in  1836. 

Messrs.  E.  Graham,  Vine  Allen — the  father  of  Rev.  Monroe 
Allen,  a  Presbyterian  minister — and  I.  Croom,  were  all  lawyers 
of  wealth  and  distinguished  standing.  Mr.  Allen  also  repre- 
sented Craven  in  tlie  State  Senate  as  early  as  1813.  Dr.  Boyd, 
not  a  communicant,  but  a  supporter  of  the  Church,  was  a  dig- 
nified and  accomplished  gentleman,  the  leading  physician  in 
New  Bern,  with  an  extensive  practice.  The  Sparrows  were 
shipbuilders;  Martin  Stevenson,  John  Dewey  and  Allen  Fitch, 
ingenious  and  leading  mechanics;  F.  J.  Jones  and  C.  Dewey, 
bank  officers;  Isaac  Taylor,  a  wealthy  retired  merchant;  Messrs. 
Primrose,  Webb,'  HoUister,  Cuthbert,  Hall,  Slover,  and  King, 
were  active  and  prosperous  merchants.  Messrs.  Franklin,  Han- 
cock, and  Jas.  McKinley,  thougli  contributors  to  building  the 
Church,  and  thus  pew-holders,  were  not  members  of  the  con- 
gregation. It  will  not  be  necessary  to  enumerate  all  the  zeal- 
ous members,  some  of  them  widows,  who  gave  character  and 
strength  to  the  Church.  Perhaps  two  others  of  the  royal  thir- 
teen should  be  spoken  of,  viz. : 

Mrs*  ^Eunice  Mnni^ 

Mrs.  Hunt  was  Miss  Eunice  Edwards,  the  seventh  daughter 
and  eighth  child  of  that  great  divine,  Jonathan  Edwards, 
D.  D.,  president  of  Princeton  College.  Prof.  H.  C.  Cameron, 
D.  D.,  of  Princeton,  has  sent  me  the  following  copy  from  the 
family  record,  made  in  Mr.  Edwards'  own  handwriting,  in  the 
family  Bible: 

"My  daughter  Eunice  was  born  on  Monday  morning,  May  9, 
1743,  about  half  an  hom-  after  midnight,  and  was  baptized  the  Sab- 
bath following." 

About  1767  she  married  Mr.  Thomas  Pollock,  a  great-grand- 
son of  Col.  Pollock,  to  whom  De  Graifenried  mortgaged  his 
claims.  Until  after  the  Revolution  she  resided  in  New  Jer- 
sey, where,  during   the  war,   Mr.   Pollock  died.     They  had 


JOHN  OAKUTIIERS  STANLY.  135 

four  children:  George,  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  North 
Carolina,  owniniz;  many  plantations,  and  some  1,500  slaves; 
Thomas  and  Elizalieth — all  three  of  whom  died  childless — and 
Frances,  who  manied  Mi-.  John  Devereux,  of  New  Bern, 
in  1793.  Mr.  Devereux  was  a  Kothschild  in  hnsiness  circles 
then.  They  left  three  children,  Thomas  Pollock  Devereux, 
a  lawyer  in  Raleigh,  George,  and  Frances,  who  married  Bishop 
(General)  Leonidas  Polk. 

Mrs.  Pollock  was  married  the  second  time,  ahout  1800,  to 
Mr.  Robert  Hunt,  of  New  Jersey.  They  resided  in  New 
Bern,  and  had  one  child,  a  daughter,  who  married  Mr.  John 
F.  Burgwyn,  an  Englishman,  living  here.  Mrs.  Hunt  died  in 
New  Bern,  August  11,  1822,  aged  seventy-nine.  Her  daugh- 
ter, Mrs.  Devereux,  as  well  as  herself,  was  one  of  the  original 
members  of  this  Church. 

One  other  remarkable  family  claims  our  notice,  viz.:  that  of 

3ofin  CaruUicrs  Stanltjt 

Or  "Barber  Jack,"  as  he  was  called,  from  having  been  at  first 
a  barber,  and  to  distinguish  him  from  the  eminent  lawyer. 
Barber  John  was  originally  a  slave,  owned  by  Miss  Lydia  Ca- 
ruthers,*  who  was  afterwards  Mrs.  Alexander  Stewart.  His 
mother  was  from  tiie  '•'•Ebo^''  African  tribe,  whose  members 
were  endowed  with  such  excellent  qualities  that  many  would 
not  buy  a  slave  from  any  other.  He  was  born  in  1772,  and  re- 
puted to  be  the  natural  son  of  John  Wright  Stanly.  Captain 
and  Mrs.  Stewart,  his  owners,  emancipated  him  for  meritori- 
ous services,  and  the  deed  was  confirmed  by  act  of  Legislature, 
in  December,  1798,  giving  him  evei-y  right,  privilege  and  im- 
munity as  if  free-born.  By  his  industry  and  speculations  he 
acquired  a  large  property,  consisting  of  two  or  three  planta- 
tions, al)Out  sixty  slaves,  and  some  houses  in  New  Bern.  Two 
of  his  slaves  kept  his  barber-shop  in  good  repute  by  their  skill. 
He  owned  and  lived  in  the  house  on  the  corner  of  Hancock 
and  Neuse  Streets,  now  the  residence  of  Mr.  George  W. 
Bishop,  and  afterwards  in  the  house  now  used  for  the  Metho- 

*  Auotber  old  colouial  uame  in  the  legal  list  of  1723. 


136  JOHN  CAEDTHERS  STANLY. 

dist  parsonage.  Mrs.  J.  C.  Stanly,  his  wife,  whom  he  bought 
and  had  legally  emancipated,  was  one  of  the  original  members 
of  the  New  Bern  Church,  and  the  family  occupied  and  owned 
two  pews.  His  children  were  well  educated,  and  always  made 
a  creditable  appearance,  and  were  well  received.  "Barber 
John"  is  described  as  a  man  of  dignified  presence,  always 
courteous  and  unobtrusive,  respected,  associated  with  by  the 
best  citizens,  and  maintaining  his  family  in  fashionable  style. 
His  oldest  son  was  a  large  merchant  here.  A  diary,  kept 
by  one  of  his  daughters,  Catherine  G.,  is  in  my  possession,  and 
it  manifests  intelligence  and  piety.  The  family  were  greatly 
attached  to  Mrs.  Stewart,  as  the  passage  about  lier  death  in 
this  diary  shows,  in  1822. 

"  The  Lord  has  been  pleased  to  afflict  with  a  severe  illness  oui* 
beloved  friend,  Mrs.  Stewart.  She  has  seen  her  three-score  years 
and  ten.  I  humbl}-  hope  she  is  clothed  in  the  wedding  garment, 
with  her  lamp  trimmed  and  burning,  ready  to  enter  into  the  mar- 
riage supper  of  the  Lamb ;  and  yet  I  feel  so  reluctant  to  part  from 
her.     O  Lord,  make  me  more  resigned  to  thy  will." 

"Oct.  10,  ten  o'clock  at  night.  At  two  o'clock  this  afternoon, 
my  beloved  and  affectionate  friend,  Mrs.  Stewart,  departed  this 
life,  in  her  seventy-eighth  year.  She  has  left  a  world  of  sin  and 
sorrow,  and,  I  trust,  is  now  at  rest  in  the  arms  of  her  Saviour."  .  .  . 

"I  have  followed  to  the  silent  tomb  the  body  of  my  dear  de- 
parted friend.  I  have  seen  it  committed  to  its  mother  earth,  soon  to 
become  food  for  devouring  worms ;  but  her  better  part  has,  I  humbly 
trust,  winged  its  flight  to  those  mansions  of  eternal  rest,  which 
God  has  prepared  for  those  who  love  him.  Solemn  indeed  is  the 
sight  to  see  the  body  of  a  fellow  mortal  committed  to  the  grave, 
and  one,  too,  with  whom  we  were  closely  and  intimately  connected, 
the  siucerity  of  whose  friendship  we  never  for  one  moment  doubted. 
Oh!  my  friend,  hast  thou  indeed  left  us  ?■ — art  thou  gone?  Shall 
we  never  again  hear  your  kind  inquiries  after  our  health?  Shall 
we  never  again  feel  the  affectionate  pressure  of  your  hand?  We 
shall  meet,  I  trust,  in  that  country  where  there  will  be  no  more 
sickness,  no  more  death,  but  all  jDcace  and  happiness. 

"  'Tis  God  that  lifts  our  comforts  bigh, 
Or  sinks  them  in  the  grave, 


D?:SCRIPTION  OF  THE  CHURCH.  137 

He  gives  and,  blessed  be  his  name  ! 
He  takes  but  what  he  gives. 

"Peace  all  our  angry  passions  then; 
Let  each  i-ebellious  sigh 
Be  silent  at  his  sovereign  will, 
And  every  murmur  die." 


Summartj. 

By  these  brief  sketches,  which  it  seems  expedient  to  rescue 
from  oblivion,  it  is  manifest  that  the  constituent  elements 
of  tliis  Church,  at  its  formation  or  revival,  were  sucli  as  to 
ensure  its  stability,  under  God's  blessing.  Men  of  the  first 
talents  in  the  various  walks  of  life,  honorable  mechanics,  enter- 
prising merchants,  men  of  profound  legal  attainments  and 
popular  political  record,  women  of  standings  beauty  and  cul- 
ture, as  well  as  of  business  occupations,  altogether  formed  a 
body  of  members  or  adherents  that  prophesied  a  career  of  vigor 
and  genuine  prosperity. 

Bcscttptton  of  tfie  CfTfturcfv 

The  building  is  TO  feet  in  length  by  55  feet  in  width.  The 
engraving  presents  a  general  view  of  the  exterior,  but  fails  fairly 
to  show  the  front.  Three  doors  open  into  the  ample  vestibule, 
whence  two  open  into  the  audience-room.  Over  the  central 
outside  door  is  a  large  arched  and  leaded  light.  The  four  lofty 
round  pillars  supporting  the  portico,  are  crowned  with  hand- 
Bome  Ionic  capitals,  and  the  entire  architectural  arrangement 
of  the  front  gives  it  a  very  neat  and  pleasing  appearance.  The 
steeple  rises  to  the  height  of  125  feet. 

The  grounds  are  extensive,  ornamented  with  a  variety  of 
desirable  shade  trees,  and  through  the  assiduous  care  of  Mr. 
George  Allen  for  many  years,  are  covered  by  a  beautiful,  well 
set,  verdant  grass  sward. 

Galleries  extend  around  three  sides  of  the  interior  of  the 
Church;  and  the  organ  stands  in  the  gallery  opposite  to  the 
pulpit.     Contrary  to  the  usual  custom,  the  pulpit  is  between 


138  DESCKIPTION  OF  THE  CHUKCH. 

the  two  doors  at  the  entrance  into  tho  audience  chamber.  There 
is  one  row  of  pews  on  each  side  of  the  Church,  and  a  solid 
centre  block  of  two  rows  of  pews.  The  pillars  supporting  the 
galleries  rise  from  the  middle  of  the  aisles ;  and  the  floor 
gradually  ascends  towards  the  rear  of  the  Churcli,  and  so  ele- 
vates the  pews  that  no  obstruction  of  vision  towards  the  pulpit 
maj  exist.  Thus  the  congregation  possesses  a  delightful  house 
for  worship — the  acoustic  properties  of  which  also  are  favor- 
able for  both  easy  speaking  and  good  hearing. 


THE  SUCCESSION  OF  PASTORS. 


Iteti.  Xemuel  Hurnnt  Hatcli* 

MR.  HATCH  Avas  the  first  Pastor  of  the  New  Bern  Cliurch 
after  the  reviviii<r  already  suggested.  He  was  the  son 
of  Gen.  Dnrant  Hatch  and  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  and  was  horn 
near  Brice's  Creek,  Craven  County,  N.  C,  the  lOth  June,  1793. 
The  Hatch  family  was  wealthy  and  prominent.  Lemuel  Hatch 
was  a  meml)er  from  Craven  County  in  the  General  Assenil)ly 
of  Deputies  of  the  province  of  North  Carolina,  that  met  in 
New  Bern,  15th  August,  1774,  and  the  Held  officer  for  the 
county  in  1775.  Ednnind  Hatch  was  in  the  Assembly  at  Hills- 
borough, 21st  of  August,  1775.  Lemuel,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  graduated  at  the  Universit}'  of  North  Carolina,  in  the 
Class  of  1815,  with  Willie  P.  Mangum,  John  H.  Bryan,  Rich- 
ard Dobbs  Spaight,  and  Francis  L.  Hawks,  all  men  of  mark  in 
history.  He  was  himself  also  a  man  of  vigorous  mind.  While 
at  Chapel  Hill  he  professed  conversion,  and  probably  joined  that 
Church.  He  studied  at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  be- 
tween two  and  three  years,  1816-1819;  was  licensed  to  preach 
by  Orange  Presbytery,  2d  of  October,  1819;  ordained  Sep-' 
tember  2d,  1821 ;  and  installed  pastor  of  the  New  Bern  Church, 
June  15th,  1822.  Li  the  '■'■  CaroUna  Ceut'inel^''  published  in 
New  Bern,  "Saturday,  June  22, 1822,"  is  the  following  notice 
of  this  last  event : 

"Installation. — The  Eevd.  Lemuel  D.  Hatch  Avas  installed  as 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  congregatit)n  in  this  i)lace, 
on  Saturday  evening  last.  The  Rev.  Dr.  McPheeters  of  Raleigh 
preached  the  sermon;  Rev.  Dr.  Caldwell,  President  of  the  Uni- 
versity at  Chapel  Hill,  addressed  the  charge  to  the  bishop,  and  the 
Kev.  Professor  Kollock,  of  the  same  institution,  the  charge  to  the 


140  REV.  LEMUEL  DUKANT  HATCH. 

people.  The  services  were  extremely  solemn  and  appropriate,  and 
a  very  numerous  audience  bore  witness  to  the  uncommon  unanimity 
with  which  Mr.  Hatch  was  welcomed  to  his  pastoral  charge. 

"The  Orange  Presbytery,  under  whose  auspices  the  installation 
was  conducted,  has  been  represented  on  the  occasion  by  the  Rev. 
Drs.  Caldwell  and  McPheeters,  the  Rev.  Professors  Mitchell  and 
Kollock,  the  Rev.  L.  D.  Hatch  and  Dr.  Elias  Hawes.  ReUgious 
service  was  performed  three  times  a  day  while  they  were  here,  and 
considerable  accessions  to  the  Church  have  given  much  interest  to 
the  present  session." 

From  a  remarkable  contemporary  diary,  already  mentioned 
as  kept  by  Catherine  G.  Stanly,  the  following  extract  is  made ; 
dated  June  16,  1822,  Sabbath: 

"Last  evening,  the  Rev.  Lemuel  D.  Hatch  was  installed  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  An  appropriate  discourse  was  deHv- 
ered  by  Dr.  McPheeters.  Dr.  Caldwell  addressed  the  minister, 
and  the  Rev.  S.  Kollock  the  jieople.  It  was  a  very  interesting  cere- 
mony and  conducted  with  great  solemnity.  O!  that  our  beloved 
pastor  may  continue  a  zealous  advocate  for  the  cause  he  has  es- 
poused, and  be  the  humble  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  Al- 
mighty, of  tm-ning  many  sinners  from  the  error  of  their  ways  to 
serve  the  only  true  and  living  God;  who  shall  be  seals  of  his  min- 
istry and  crowns  of  his  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the  Lord.  O  that  a 
merciful  God  may  make  ?ne  one  of  that  happy  number!" 

She  states  that  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  ad- 
ministered on  Sabbath,  and  nhie  new  communicants  were  re- 
ceived ;  and  sorrowfully  adds : 

"  O,  if  they  were  nine  new  creatures,  what  a  glorious  day  it  was  to 
them !     But  I  was  not  of  the  happy  number ;  I  stiU  remain  behind." 

No  record  of  the  membership  of  tlie  young  Church  can  be 
obtained  before  1825,  when  it  was  fifty-four;  and  in  1828,  it 
was  sixty-six.  During  Mr.  Hatcli's  incumbency,  or  that  of 
Mr.  Campbell,  the  following  important  additions  were  made  to 
the  Church,  viz.,  Capt.  E.  Harding,  a  sea-faring  man,  Darius 
C.  Allen  and  Thomas  Watson,  the  first  two  of  whom  became 
Presbyterian  clergymen ;  Thomas  Sparrow,  George  Reid,  Mrs. 


REV.  LEMUEL  DURANT  HATCH.  141 

Patsy  Dixon,  and  Misses  Elizabetli  Taylor  and  Elizabeth  Tor- 
rance. In  1829  the  membership  was  sixty-eight.  This  pas- 
toral relationship  continued  six  and  a  half  years  nearly,  and  was 
dissolved  by  Orange  Presbytery,  at  Spring  Grove  Church,  Fri- 
day, 13th  December,  1828. 

Mr.  Hatch  was  married  15th  January,  1828,  in  Dnplin  County, 
N.  C,  to  Miss  Martha  Dixon,  who  was  an  orphan  daughter  of 
Lewis  Dixon  and  Catherine  Dixon  {^Nee  Hill),  and  was  living 
with  Dr.  Buck  Dixon,  near  Faison,  a  town  on  the  Wilmington 
and  Weldon  Railroad  On  leaving  New  Bern  he  resided  in 
Duplin  County,  and  is  reported  as  Stated  Supply  a  part  of  the 
time  at  Red  House  Church.  In  1833  lie  moved  to  Alabama; 
and  October  9th,  1834.  was  dismissed  to  South  Alabama  Pres- 
bytery, and  lived  near  Greensboro,  Ala.,  until  his  death,  at 
Blount  Springs,  Ala.,  after  a  short  sickness,  October  T,  1866,  in 
the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  New  Presbytery  of  Tuscaloosa,  organized  in 
1835.  Becoming  unexpectedly  burdened  in  the  management 
of  some  large  pecuniary  interests,  he  was  greatly  hindered  in 
ministerial  work,  and  never  had  another  pastoral  charge  after 
leaving  New  Bern.  He  preached  in  Greensboro  and  neighbor- 
ing churches  when  they  were  vacant,  and  during  the  latter  years 
of  his  life  (perhaps  ten),  labored  largely  and  acceptably,  without 
remuneration,  among  the  colored  people.  Rev.  Dr.  C.  A.  Still- 
man,  of  Tuscaloosa,  who  knew  and  loved  him  well,  has  written 
to  the  author,  that  "he  was  a  man  of  tine  mind,  well  educated, 
and  he  had  a  large  and  valuable  library.  He  was  blessed  with 
a  very  genial  spirit  and  an  amiable  disposition.  We  all  loved 
him.  .  .  .  He  was  a  good  man,  in  whom  we  all  had  confidence." 
Reports  and  traditions  in  New  Bern  say  that  he  was  a  good 
and  popular  young  man;  and  as  a  preacher,  not  lirilliant,  ar- 
gumentative in  style,  and  not  uninteresting.  His  daughter 
writes  me  that  many  conversions  occurred  under  his  ministry, 
but  no  remarkable  revivals.  He  lived  a  consistent  Christian 
life.  At  the  time  of  his  death,  the  following  notice  appeared 
in  the  Alahama  Beacon^  Greensboro,  Ala.,  over  tlie  signature 
"A  Friend": 


142  KEV,  LEMUEL  DURANT  HATCH. 

"Eev.  L.  D.  Hatch  died  at  Blount  Springs,  Ala.,  on  tlie  7th  of 
October,  1866,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age.  Mr.  Hatch  was 
a  native  of  North  Carolina,  and  he  moved  to  this  State  about  the 
year  1833.  He  graduated  at  Chapel  Hill,  N.  C,  and  afterwards  in 
the  Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J.  He  began  his  minis- 
try in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  Bern,  N.  C.  The  latter  part 
of  his  Hfe  was  devoted  to  the  noble  and  self-sacrificing  work  of  a 
missionaiy  among  the  negroes  in  the  bounds  of  Tuscaloosa  Presby- 
tery. He  was  hale,  hearty,  vigorous  and  cheerful  up  to  the  day  of 
his  last  illness,  which  was  but  of  short  duration.  In  all  the  rela- 
tions of  life,  as  husband,  father,  friend,  neighbor,  citizen,  and  min- 
ister, his  Hfe  was  beautiful  and  commendable,  and  with  his  friends 
and  relations  he  left  a  good  example,  worthy  of  imitation.  Kind, 
generous,  noble,  and  devout,  he  lived  among  us  without  reproach 
as  a  gentleman,  patriot,  and  Christian,  held  in  imiversal  esteem; 
and  when  called  to  a  higher  and  better  world,  he  died  without  fear, 
amid  the  miiversal  regrets  of  a  community  in  which  there  was  not 
one  who  bore  towards  him  the  least  ill-will." 

In  1828,  Mr.  Hatch  was  Moderator  of  the  Synod  of  Korth 
■Carolina,  in  Raleigh. 


EEV.  MICHAEL  OSBORNE.  143 


Mr.  Osborne  was  born  in  Essex  Co.,  N.  J.,  21st  Marcli,  1796, 
and  was  educated  for  the  ministry.  Pie  probably  graduated  at 
Nassau  Hall;  then  spent  three  full  years  at  Princeton  Theo- 
logical Seminary;  was  ordained  by  Elizabethtown  Presbytery 
on  23rd  February,  1825;  served  the  Second  Church  in  Wood- 
bridge,  N.  J.;  then  the  Metuchen  Church  to  1827;  forwarded 
by  letter  his  certificate  of  dismission  from  Elizabethtown  Pres- 
bytery to  Orange  Presbytery,  and  was  received  therein  at  Haw- 
fields,  N.  C,  7th  October,  1829.  At  a  session  of  the  Presby- 
tery, during  the  meeting  of  Synod,  in  Fayetteville,  14th  No- 
vember, 1829, — the  New  Bern  Church  being  represented  by  Dr. 
Elias  Hawes, — a  call  was  presented  for  the  services  of  Mr.  Os- 
borne as  Pastor  of  that  Church,  and  accepted  by  him.  On  De- 
cember 12th,  1829,  he  was  dul}-^  installed  in  New  Bern.  Rev. 
Thomas  P.  Hunt  preached  the  sermon ;  Pev.  L.  D.  Hatch 
charged  the  Pastor;  and  Rev.  J.  Wetherby  charged  the  people. 
Mr.  Osborne  was  probably  preaching  in  New  Bern  a  short  time 
before  his  installation.  This  pastoral  connection  was  dissolved 
at  Presbytery  in  Greensboro,  15th  August,  1831,  having  con- 
tinued less  than  two  years. 

A  revival  in  New  Bern  is  referred  to  by  the  narrative  of  the 
General  Assembly  for  1830,  when  fifteen  were  added  to  the 
Churcli ;  and  during  Mr.  Osborne's  pastorate,  tliere  were  seven- 
teen additions  and  twenty-seven  baptisms.  Yet,  in  1831,  the 
number  of  members  is  the  same  as  in  1829,  viz.:  sixty-eight 
(68). 

After  the  dissolution  of  his  relation  with  New  Bern,  Mr.  Os- 
borne continued  his  connection  with  Orange  Presbytery,  and 
engaged  possibly  in  missionary  work  for  awhile;  supplied  the 
Raleigh  Church  in  1833-'35;  and  was  dismissed  on  9th  Octo- 
ber, 1835,  to  the  Presbytery  of  New  York.     During  his  con- 


144  REV.  SAMUEL  OSBORNE. 

nection  with  Orange  Presbytery  he  was  its  Treasurer,  and  was 
three  times  chosen  its  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly. 
He  was  pastor  of  the  P.  R.  Dutch  Church  in  Schraalburg, 
1834-'37;  Stated  Supply  to  Cub  Creek  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  Hanover  Presbytery,  Va.,  1842-48;  Pastor  in  Farmville, 
Va.,  from  1848-'62,  and  died  there  on  3rd  July,  1862.  I 
knew  Mr.  Osborne  when  I  was  in  Union  Theological  Seminary. 
He  was  quite  a  small  man,  with  a  "big"  voice,  active,  pro- 
nounced in  his  opinions,  and  accustomed  to  exceedingly  plain 
speaking,  so  as  sometimes  to  offend.  He  called  a  spade  "  a 
spader  He  was  a  good  man,  who  did  good  service  in  his  gene- 
ration. As  a  brother  beloved  said  in  response  to  my  query 
about  Mr.  Osborne  and  New  Bern,  "Whence  came  he,  and 
whither  did  he  go  ?"  "  He  came  from  Kew  Jersey,  and  he  went 
to  Heaven." 


KEV,  SAMUEL  IIURD.  145 


Of  Mr.  Hnrd's  liistory  little  has  l)een  discovered.  AVliat  is 
liere  stated  has  been  gathei-ed  from  tradition  and  part  of  a  brief 
diar}'  kept  by  Dr.  Elias  llawes,  one  of  the  ruling  elders,  and 
kindly  given  to  nie  by  the  widow  of  Kev.  D.  Stratton.  This 
interesting  document  begins  on  Sabbath,  8th  April,  1832.  Mr. 
Hnrd  was  then  preaching  here,  and  probably  came  soon  after 
Mr.  Osborne  left;  for  this  amusing  entry  occurs  on  April  21, 
1833,  about  a  sermon  Mr.  Hurd  preached  that  Sabbath:  "  in 
tlie  main,  the  same  sermon  he  preached  for  the  first  time  about 
a  year  and  a  half  ago,  and  very  good,  and  much  to  the  pur- 
pose." Diaries  will  keep  the  preacher's  traditional  "barrel" 
from  being  turned  over  too  frequently!  In  1832  and  1833 
New  Bern  is  reported  as  having  a  Stated  Supply,  but  no  name 
is  added.  Mr.  Ilurd  was  here  from  some  unknown  date  in  1831 
until  April,  1833,  but  was  not  a  member  of  Orange  Presbytery 
till  November  14,  1833,  when  he  was  received  on  certificate 
from  West  Hanover,  and  was  dismissed,  the  same  day,  to  the 
Presbytery  of  Indianapolis.  He  was  a  consumptive,  too  unwell 
sometimes  while  in  New  Bern  to  preach,  and  died  in  Missis- 
sippi, about  1846. 

During  his  labors  here  there  must  have  been  consider- 
able religious  interest  and  activity ;  for  in  the  Assembly's 
Minutes  in  1832  are  reported  twenty-eight  additions  on  exam- 
ination, and  one  on  certificate,  with  thirteen  infant  baptisms, 
raising  the  membership  from  sixty-eight  to  ninety-three;  and 
the  next  year  shows  fourteen  received  on  profes>ion,  and  a  total 
membership  of  one  hundred.  Mr.  Osborne  joined  Mr.  Hurd 
on  April  29,  1832,  in  meetings  that  evidently  were  of  great 
interest ;  and  the  fervor  of  prayer  and  work  for  the  Redeemer 
iind  lost  souls  nmst  have  prevailed  for  a  considerable  period. 
Dr.  Hawes  says: 


146  REV,  SAMUEL  HURD. 

"  Friday  evening,  May  4th.  Prayer-meeting  at  my  room.  A 
few.  Saturday  evening,  May  5th.  The  male  members  met  at 
Mr.  James  Y.  Green's  for  prayer  and  religious  conversation, 
and  resolved  to  pray  for  and  converse  with  thirty  persons,  most 
of  whom  worship  constantly  or  occasionally  in  our  Church,  and 
to  persevere  in  this  until  God  by  liis  Spirit  shall  convert  their 
hearts  and  forgive  their  sins.  Their  names  were  spread  before 
us,  and  each  one  agreed  to  pray  for  and  converse  with  such 
and  such,  if  possible." 

"Lord's  Day,  6th  May,  1832.  Prayer-meeting  at  1-2  after 
5  in  tlie  morning,  at  the  ringing  of  the  bell.  Worship  at  10. 
Mr.  Martin  Stevenson  read  one  of  President  Davies'  sermons. 
...  In  the  afternoon  Mr.  H.  C.  Graham  read  a  sermon  from 
the  Southern  Preacher.  .  .  .  Pi-ayer-meeting  at  Mr.  O.  Dewey's 
in  the  evening.  Monday,  May  7t]i,  1832.  Conversed  with 
Mary  Dewey,  Mr.  Wliicthcoat  Wliite,  Mr.  Barland,  a  word 
with  Sylvester  Brown,  Cicero  Hawks,  Mrs.  Mary  McKinley, 
and  Mr.  Edward  E.  Graham.  Mr.  White  would  be  glad  to 
have  Mr.  Hurd  call  on  him." 

Prayer-meeting  was  held  at  Mr.  John  Jones's  on  Tuesday. 
Mr.  Hurd  had  been  absent  some  days  attending  a  fonr  days' 
continued  meeting — so  common  and  notable  in  the  beginning 
of  the  century — at  Lake  Phelps,  but  returned  to  the  Thurs- 
day's prayer-meeting  at  Mr.  J.  Jones's,  and  continued  his  regu- 
lar ministrations.  Among  those  received  into  the  Church  by 
him  were  Messrs.  Charles  Slover  and  Martin  Stevenson  ;  and 
on  April  14,  1833,  Mrs.  King,  Mrs.  C.  Slover  (who  was  bap- 
tized on  17th  March,  after  a  sermon  on  the  "duties  of  parents 
to  their  children,")  Mr.  Jeremiah  Allen,  and  Captain  Anthony 
Ferguson,  who  had  been  baptized  on  January  29.  Tlie  Sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered  on  Sabbath, 
April  14,  in  the  morning;  and  in  the  afternoon  Mr.  Hurd 
preached  from  1  Tim.  v.  17,  and  ordained  to  the  office  of  ruling 
elder  the  following  brethren,  who  had  been  previously  elected, 
viz.,  Messrs.  John  Jones,  Charles  Slover  and  Martin  Stevenson. 

After  Sabbath,  July  29th,  till  November  1,  1832,  Mr.  Hurd 
was  absent  with  his  wife.     He  then  resumed  his  service,  and 


THE  INTERIM.  147 

with  intermissions  from  sickness  and  preaching  in  Wasliington, 
N.  C,  he  preached  Christ  and  llini  crucified  to  tliis  Church  till 
Monday,  22d  April,  1833,  when  he  sailed  with  Mrs.  llurd  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Charles  Slover  for  New  York.  So  ended  his 
career  in  New  Bern.  In  1834,  the  statistics  show  five  addi- 
tions, but  the  menihership  was  only  niuety-eight.  The  Church 
reniained  without  a  Pastor  imtil  the  advent  of  Rev.  Drury 
Lacy,  in  1834. 

Regular  services  were  maintained  in  the  Church  on  Sabbath 
by  the  reading  of  sermons,  and  the  occasional  help  of  a  minis- 
ter. On  one  Sabbath  Mr.  Osborne  preached,  on  two  Rev. 
Philo.  Calhoun,  Pastor  of  AYashington  Church.  The  readers 
at  this  time  were  Messrs.  H.  C.  Graham,  James  Stevenson, 
Elias  Hawes,  Rol^ert  Hay,  Chas.  Slover,  Allen  Fitch,  Edward 
Graham,  and  Martin  Stevenson,  This  admirable  custom  and 
strict  perfttrmance  of  duty  long  prevailed  here.  It  is  calcu- 
lated to  maintain  the  esprit  du  corps^  the  growth  and  the  spirit- 
uality of  a  vacant  Church,  and  should  never  be  neglected.  The 
custom  seemed  to  be  generally  in  this  Church  to  have  a  sermon, 
both  morning  and  afternoon ;  and  in  the  evening,  either  a  third 
sermon,  or  more  frequently  a  prayer-meeting  at  a  private  house. 
Two  or  three  prayer-meetings  were  held  during  the  week  at 
different  houses  in  the  congregation.  One  service  was  usually 
for  males  only.  These  social  gatherings  were,  for  example,  at 
the  homes  of  Thos.  Sparrow,  Jno.  Jones,  E.  Hawes,  O.  Dewey, 
Robt.  Hay,  J.  Y.  Green,  C.  Slover,  M.  Stevenson,  Wm.  Tay- 
lor, and  Capt.  R.  Fisher.  In  this  pastoral  intermission  these 
exercises  on  Sabbath  seem  to  have  been  omitted  only  once, 
(May  12,  1833,)  when  such  constant  rain  fell  that  there  was  no 
service  in  any  Church. 


10 


148  REV.  DRUEY  LACY. 


On  Wednesday,  4th  September,  1833,  Mr.  Lacy  arrived  in 
New  Bern  on  a  visit  to  the  Church.  On  Thursday  he  conducted 
the  meeting  at  Mr.  Slover's,  and  on  Saturday  attended  the  male 
prayer-meeting  at  Mr.  Sparrow's,  where  he  was  domiciled.  He 
remained,  preaching  and  visiting,  for  three  Sabbaths.  Dr. 
Hawes's  comments  are  unique:  "His  manner  very  emphatic 
and  energetic — not  confined  in  the  least  by  his  notes  (45  min- 
utes !  !)"  This  was  the  criticism  on  the  first  sermon.  On  the 
second  and  third  only  "  (45  !)"  The  next  discourse  he  charac- 
terizes as  an  '•'- extraordinai^y  biographical  lecture  of  our  Sa- 
viour, John  the  Baptist,  Herod,  Herodias,  and  her  dancing 
daughter,  Salome  (50!)"  Mr.  Lacy  conducted  the  funeral  of 
Mr.  Rich'd  Grist,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Washington,  and 
administered  the  Lord's  Supper  while  here,  and  left  on  Mon- 
day, 23d  September,  on  "the  steamboat  Jolui  Stoney  for  Eliz- 
beth,  Norfolk,  Petersburg,  and  Prince  Edward  in  Virginia. 

On  Sabbath,  29th  September,  1833,  "notice  was  given  in 
our  church  that  the  Presbyterian  congregation  were  requested 
to  meet  to-morrow  afternoon  at  4  o'clock  to  elect  a  pastor,  min- 
ister, or  bishop  for  our  congregation."  Accordingly,  the  meet- 
ing was  held,  and  the  call  made  out  on  30tli  September,  with 
the  promise  of  $600  in  quarterly  payments,  and  as  much  more 
as  could  be  raised.  Dr.  E.  Hawes  moderated  the  meeting,  and 
the  call  was  signed  by  a  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs. 
Robert  Hay,  John  Jones,  Thomas  Watson,  Robert  Primrose, 
Elias  Hawes,  Wm.  Hollister,  and  Thomas  Sparrow.  It  was 
forwarded  to  some  minister,  perhaps  Mr.  Osborne,  as  the  ac- 
companying letter  will  sliow : 


^ 


A 


HtLIOTVPC     PRINTINQ    CO  ,    BOSTON,    MASS 


BEV.  DRURY  LACY.  149 

"NewBekn,  Oct.  3d,  1833. 
"Rev'd  Sm:  The  Presbyterian  Chui-ch  in  New  Bern  has  been  for 
almost  six  months  without  a  stated  minister.  The  Rev.  Drury 
Lacy,  of  New  Hanover  Presbytery,  Virginia,  by  oiu'  invitation,  has 
been  with  us  and  preached  for  three  Sabbaths,  and  attended  many 
prayer-meetings,  and  administered  the  L(»rd'8  Supper.  WhUe 
here  he  visited  almost  every  member  of  the  church  and  congrega- 
tion, and  we  are  so  weU  pleased  with  him,  that  the  preceding  call  was 
unanimous.  We  are  anxious  to  have  it  jDrosecuted,  that  if  the  re- 
sult should  not  be  favorable,  we  might  seek  for  some  other  pastor 
to  be  installed  over  us.  We  know  that  the  last  Orange  Presl^ytery 
held  their  session  at  New  Bern ;  but  where  the  next  was  appointed, 
or  if  there  is  to  be  a  called  Presbytery,  as  is  sometimes  the  case, 
before  the  stated  one,  we  know  not.  We  take  the  liberty  to  for- 
ward the  call  to  you,  that  if  you  attend  the  Presbytery,  you  may 
put  this  in  the  proper  direction ;  or  if  you  do  not  attend,  that  you 
will  commit  it  to  the  care  of  some  other  member  of  Orange  Presby- 
tery to  be  completed.  Please  to  inform  us  where  the  next  Presby- 
tery will  sit,  or  if  any  will  be  constituted  for  extra  business  within 
oiu-  bounds.  By  the  authority  and  request  of  the  committee  of  the 
congregation.  THo^L\s  W.^.tson." 

On  November  14tli,  1833,  at  a  meeting  of  Orange  Presby- 
tery during  Synod,  New  Bern  Church  appeared  by  its  com- 
niissioner,  and  obtained  permission  to  prosecute  this  call  before 
East  Hanover  Presbytery. 

In  view  of  tliis  call,  Mr.  Lacy  began  his  work  liere  January 
Ist,  1834.  Orange  Presbytery  convened  in  New  Bern  on 
28th  April,  1834,  received  Mr.  Lacy  from  East  Hanover  Pres- 
bytery, put  into  his  hands  tlie  above  mentioned  call,  wliicli  he 
accepted,  and  at  11  A.  M.  on  Monday,  3d  May,  installed  him 
as  Pastor.  Rev,  James  Wetlierby,  Moderator  of  Presby- 
tery, presided.  Rev.  N.  H,  Harding  preached  the  sermon. 
Rev.  A.  Wilson  gave  the  chai-ge  to  the  minister,  and  Rev. 
M.  Osborne  to  the  people.  Mr.  Lacy  remained  with  tliis 
charge  three  years,  as  he  left  in  December,  1836,  The  re- 
lationship, however,  for  some  unknown  reason,  was  not  dis- 
solved by  Roanoke  Presbytery  until  September  15th,  1837. 
During  this  time  there  is  no  report  for  the  year  1835,     \\\  the 


150  REV.  DRURY  LACY. 

other  two  years  there  were  seven  additions,  three  by  examination, 
and  four  by  certificate ;  and  two  infant  baptisms.  But,  accord- 
ing to  the  statistics  for  1837,  the  communicants  had  decreased 
to  eighty.  The  contributions  in  1836  for  Missions  were  re- 
ported as  $90,  and  for  Education  $110;  and  for  1836-37, 
Missions,  $130,  and  Education,  $130.  A  visit  in  January, 
1835,  from  Rev.  J.  Armstrong,  Agent  for  the  American 
Board  Commissioners  of  Foreign  Missions  (I  suppose),  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Brown,  of  Virginia,  for  the  Assembly's  Board  of 
Domestic  Missions,  in  April,  1836,  seems  to  have  awakened  un- 
usual interest  in  these  causes.  From  1820  to  1860,  the  only 
contributions  made  were  for  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions, 
Education, — including  the  Theological  Seminary, — and  the 
Commissioner's  fund.  Other  departments  of  Church  work 
seem  to  have  been  ignored. 

Mr.  Lacy  was  sick  in  1836,  and  was  convalescing  at  Mr. 
John  Jones's,  where  he  counselled  with  the  elders  about  keep- 
ing tlie  Church  open  during  his  contemplated  absence.  He  left 
on  September  5th,  and  returned  31st  October.  He  then  at- 
tended Synod  at  Fayetteville,  and  on  his  return  thence  addressed 
the  subjoined  letter  to  the  officers  of  the  Church: 

"  To  THE  Session  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  New  Bern. 

"My  Dear  Brethren:  It  is  with  a  heart  full  of  sorrow  that  I  now 
address  you.  You  have  heard  me  declare  in  private  and  in  public 
Ttiy  full  intention  of  living  and  dying  in  the  7nidst  of  you.  I  was 
sincere  in  these  declarations.  I  have  promptly  refused  to  accept 
several  offers  and  several  solicitations  for  my  services  in  other  places. 
I  have  neither  sought  nor  desired  any  office  but  that  of  being  your 
pastor.  And  I  am  now  doing  one  of  the  most  solemn  and  painfvil 
duties  that  I  have  ever  been  called  on,  in  the  providence  of  God,  to 
perform.  I  am  tearing  myself  from  a  dearly  beloved  people — the 
most  affectionate  and  attached  that  I  ever  expect  to  find  in  this 
world.  And  it  is  with  the  utmost  reluctance,  and  with  deep  anguish 
of  spirit,  that  I  now  announce  to  you  the  resignation  of  my  pastoral 
office.  The  reasons  which  have  influenced  me  in  this  matter  are 
many,  and  appear  to  me  to  be  weighty.  I  cannot  detail  them  here. 
I  will  only  say  that  an  imperious  and  overpowering  sense  of  duty 


KKV.   I^KURY  LACY.  151 

alone  has  forced  me  to  this  decision,  opposed  as  it  is  to  all  the  feel- 
ings of  my  heart. 

"Permit  me  to  express  heie  what  I  hope  for  an  opportunity  of 
doing  more  fully  and  more  publicly,  the  deep  feehng  of  gi'atitude 
3'ou  have  laid  upon  me,  for  all  the  kindness  I  have  received  from 
you.  And  now,  with  earnest  prayer  that  it  may  please  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  to  bless  you  and  the  Church  which  you  repre- 
sent, in  giving  you  very  soon  a  pastor  after  his  own  heart,  who  may 
go  in  and  out  before  you,  and  teach  you  the  way  of  righteousness 
and  peace,  I  am,  m}'  dear  brethren, 

"Most  sincerely  yoiu's,  etc.,  Drury  Lacy. 

"New  Bern,  29^A  yov.,  1836." 

To  this  letter  the  following  reply  was  returned,  after  a  united 
meeting  and  conference  of  the  elders  and  trustees  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  C.  Slover,  on  Tuesday  evening,  6th  December: 

"New  Bern,  Dec.  7,  1836. 
"Kev.  D.  Lacy, 

"De.\r  Sm:  The  undersigned,  a  Committee  on  behalf  of  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  Presbyterian  Chiu'ch,  ai"e  authorized  to  give  the  follow- 
ing response  to  your  letter,  resigning  your  pastoral  charge  of  the 
same. 

"It  is  with  feelings  of  unmingled  I'egret  that  the  Trustees  receive 
the  announcement  of  the  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation  be- 
tween yourself  and  our  Congregation.  Not  being  in  possession  of 
the  reasons  that  ha^  e  urged  you  to  a  separation  so  unexpected  and 
painful,  they  are  incompetent  to  pass  judgment  on  their  sufficiency; 
but  the  confidence  which  they  place  in  your  motives  and  character 
induces  them  to  believe  that  they  must  be  of  high  and  paramount 
consideration.     They  therefore  accept  your  resignation. 

"Permit  us,  in  behalf  of  the  Trustees,  to  express  their  unabated 
affection  and  esteem  for  yourself  and  family',  and  their  fervent  wish 
that  your  life  of  usefuhiess  and  devotion  to  your  calling,  of  which 
80  bright  a  specimen  has  been  afforded  by  your  labors  amongst  us, 
may  be  long  spared  to  our  Church. 

"Very  respectfuUy  yours, 

"Haaulton  C.  Grah.im,  \ 

"M.  Stevenson,  Jr.,        >    Committee." 

"Charles  Slover,  ) 


152  REV.  DRUKY  LACY. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Sabbath,  December  25th,  at  three  o'clock, 
Mr.  Lacy  preached  and  made  his  farewell  address,  founded  on 
2  Cor.  xiii.  11:  "Finally,  brethren,  farewell.  Be  perfect,  be 
of  good  comfort,"  etc.  Dr.  Hawes  says:  "Wednesday  morn- 
ing, four  o'clock,  28th  December,  1836,  Rev.  Drury  Lacy  and 
his  family — his  wife,  Williana;  mother,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Wil- 
kinson; daughter,  Miss  Elizabeth  Lacy,  or  rather,  Lady  Bess; 
eon,  James  Horace  Lacy — and  servant  maid,  went  to  Raleigh  in 
the  stage.'' 

It  is  understood  that  failure  of  health  was  the  moving  cause 
of  Mr.  Lacy's  change  of  residence.  Years  afterwards  he  per- 
petrated an  Irishism  on  the  floor  of  Presbytery  by  saying,  "If 
I  had  lived  in  New  Bern  until  now,  I  should  have  been  dead 
twenty  years  ago.''''  As  an  evidence  of  his  ready  wit,  it  is  told 
that  once,  during  some  excitement  here,  he  was  making  an  ad- 
dress, when  some  dissentient  cried  out,  "Don't  hear  him;  he's 
a  Virginian."  Quickly  Mr.  Lacy  exclaimed,  "  Listen  to  me, 
friends ;  true,  I  am  a  Virginian ;  and  I  love  Virginia  as  I  love 
my  mother;  but  I  love  North  Carolina  as  I  love  m}'^  wife!" 
A  unanimous  acclamation  arose,  "  Hear  him  !  hear  him ! ! " 

While  he  was  in  New  Bern,  the  interest  in  both  Bible-class 
and  Sabbath-school  are  said  to  have  increased. 

Contietsion  of  Mr.  ICacg. 

In  December,  1862,  Rev.  W.  S.  AYhite,  D.  D.,of  Lexington, 
Va.,  gave  me  the  following  account  of  the  conversion  of  Rev, 
Drury  Lacy  during  Dr.  Nettleton's  visit  to  Prince  Edward  Co., 
Va.  His  cousin.  Rev,  J.  H.  Rice,  D.  D.,  was  then  at  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  Mr.  Lacy,  being  deeply  convicted  oi 
sin,  had  a  conversation  with  Dr.  Nettleton,  and  went  home 
but  he  was  so  distressed  that  he  saddled  his  horse,  and  in  the 
night  rode  three  miles  to  the  Seminary,  and,  rousing  the  ser- 
vant, went  to  Dr.  Rice's  chamber  door,  and  told  him  he  wanted 
to  see  Dr.  Nettleton,  A  candle  was  gotten,  and  he  was  shown 
to  Dr,  Nettleton's  room,  where  he  was  wrapped  up  and  asleep. 
On  being  waked,  he  said,  rubbing  his  eyes,  "Is  that  you,  Mr. 
Lacy?     Why,  what  in  the  world  do  you  want  at  this  time  of 


REV.  DRURY  LACY.  ISST 

niglit?"  Mr.  Lacy  replied,  "I  want  to  talk  to  you."  "What 
in  the  world  do  you  want  to  talk  to  me  about?"  "I  want  you 
to  tell  me  how  I  can  be  saved."  "What!  Yon,  the  son  of  a 
distinguished  Presbyterian  divine,  ask  me  such  a  question? 
You!  reared  in  the  lap  of  the  Church?  I  have  told  you 
already  all  that  I  know."  After  a  few  more  words,  he  then 
said,  in  solemn  and  tender  tones,  "Mr.  Lacy,  I  have  only  this 
to  say:  ''Go  home,  and  give  your  conscience  fair  play.'' ^"^ 

Feeling  himself  harshly  treated,  Mr,  Lacy  left,  vexed,  mad. 
But  finally  he  began  to  think  that  if  clergymen  thus  slighted 
him,  thei-e  was  no  hope  for  liim  in  man ;  and  he  lifted  up  his 
voice  and  cried,  "Lord,  Lord,"  until  the  woods  rang  with  the 
sound.  The  Lord  heard  the  plea  of  despair,  lifted  the  cloud 
and  the  burden,  and  gave  rest  to  the  humbled  penitent.  So 
Mr.  Lacy  said,  "Tliat  night  there  was  not  so  happy  a  man  in 
Prince  Edward.  1  found  Mr.  Ntttleton  was  in  the  ivay  hetween 
me  and  ChristP 

A  number  of  the  leading  members  of  the  congregation 
agreed  to  have  catechetical  instruction  by  the  Pastor,  a  few  min- 
utes before  sermon,  on  the  Larger  Catechism.  Dr.  Hawes 
consulted  Eobert  Hay,  Mrs.  Hannis,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Tay- 
lor, Mrs.  Watson,  Mrs.  Vipon,  Mrs.  Eliz.  Lee,  Capt.  D.  Scott 
and  wife,  Mrs.  Em.  Ilall,  and  Mrs.  Fitch,  about  this  arrangement. 

Ittferc$ttu0  3^iict$. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Lacy  was  installed  here.  Rev.  J.  Leighton 
Wilson  was  present,  being  on  a  visit  to  his  native  land  from 
the  mission  he  had  founded  and  been  conducting  on  the  Western 
coast  of  Africa.  He  addressed  the  Presbytery,  which  passed 
resolutions  commendatory  of  his  w^ork.  Dr.  Wilson  bectame 
the  able  and  honored  leader  of  our  young  Churcli  in  her  noble 
work  of  Foreign  Missions  as  the  Assembly's  Secretary  of  For- 
eign Missions. 

At  this  session  also,  Wm.  A.  Shaw,  M.D.,  who  became  Pas- 
tor of  the  church  in  Washington,  N.  C,  was  examined  and  li- 
censed to  preacli  the  Gospel. 


154  REV.  DRURY  LACY. 

Ben*  llioses  larurij  flogct  B*  B* 

Tliis  lionored  and  eloquent  clergyman,  now  Pastor  of  the  Se- 
cond Presbyterian  Church,  Richmond,  Ya.,  is  a  nephew  of  Dr. 
Lacy.  When  a  youth  of,  perhaps,  fourteen  years  of  age,  after 
a  long  and  trying  journey  on  horseback,  during  which  he  suf- 
fered much  and  met  with  much  kindness,  he  reached  New 
Bern,  to  make  his  home  with  his  uncle.  lie  was  a  Sabbath- 
school  scholar  of  Mr.  Charles  Slover,  whom  he  remembers  with 
affection.  Here  doubtless  the  ingenuous  lad's  spiritual  life  was 
fostered,  and  good  seed  sown,  which  have  not  disappointed  hope 
and  prayer.  He  seems  to  have  formed  and  cherished  an  inti- 
macy with  the  eccentric,  but  zealous,  educated  and  pious  ruling 
elder.  Dr.  Elias  Hawes.  In  his  journal  Dr.  Hawes  speaks  of 
this  youth  several  times.  On  Fi-iday,  February  20th,  1835,  he 
went,  according  to  his  commendable  habit,  to  visit  an  estimable 
and  famous  character  in  those  days — Betsey  Always,  sick  at 
the  county  Poor  House,  Poplar  Grove,  near  New  Bern.  "  Moses 
Drury  Hoge,  who  was  with  me,  carried  my  gun  and  shot  a 
sparrow."  Was  this  the  beginning  of  a  sportsman's  experi- 
ence? It  shows  the  pleasant  relations  existing  between  the 
youth  and  the  man  of  nearly  three-score  and  ten,so  that  weare 
not  surprised  to  read  afterwards  this  entry:  "Mr.  M.  D.  Hoge 
called  at  the  iisual  hQin\  and  we  vent  on  vntli  our  customary 
study  of  the  Larger  Catechism,  tagetlicr.  We  have  arrived  to  the 
191  question."  Again,  on  Saturday,  April  4th,  1885,  preceding 
the  communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper  on  Sabbath  afternoon,  we 
learn  of  the  tender  solicitude  of  the  affectionate  uncle  from  this 
significant  note:  "Male  prayer-meeting  at  Brother  Oliver 
Dewey's.  Mr,  Lacy  expressed  his  anxiety  for  his  nephew, 
Moses  Drury  Hoge,  and  entreated  us  to  pray  for  him,"  The 
Lord  is  the  covenant-keeping  God,  the  hearer  and  answerer  of 
prayer,  and  did  not  forget  these  united  prayers  of  faith,  or  this 
child  of  an  illustrious  and  pious  ancestry.  Long  have  his  wide- 
reaching  labors  in  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  caused  many  souls 
to  praise  God's  redeeming  gi-ace,  presented  tenderly  and  elo- 
quently by  this  servant  of  the  King.     It  is  a  pleasure  for  the 


REV.  DRURY  LACY.  155 

New  Bern  Church  to  have  had  sometliiiig  to  do  in  preparing 
such  a  workman  for  the  Master's  use.  On  Tliursdaj,  April 
28th,  1836,  Mr.  Iloge  sailed  from  New  Bern,  a  passenger  on 
the  Malachi  B.  Robertson^  and  does  not  appear  here  again. 

After  leaving  New  Bern,  Mr.  Lacy  l)egan  his  woric  in  Raleigh 
January  1st,  1837.  His  ministry  there,  for  nearly  nineteen 
years,  was  signally  blessed  in  establishing  and  strengthening 
tliat  small  organization  His  installation  as  Pastor  was  not  until 
November,  1837.  Beginning  with  thirty-nine  members,  and  a 
dilapidated  church-building  and  congregation,  and  the  Session 
house  for  his  services,  he  was  so  helped  of  God,  that  he  received 
into  the  Church  about  two  hundred  members,  and  left  it  num- 
bering one  liundred  and  sixteen,  with  a  repaired  sanctuary  and 
resuscitated  in  all  church  activities. 

Davidson  College  received,  in  February,  1855,  a  legacy  of 
$250,000  from  Maxwell  Chambers,  of  Salisbury.  Mr.  Lacy 
was  unanimously  elected  its  President,  accepted  the  position, 
And  from  April,  1855,  to  July,  1860,  successfully  administered 
its  aifairs  in  a  new  and  expanding  career.  During  this  time  he 
received  eighty-eight  members  into  the  Church.  Having  re- 
signed the  Presidency  he  returned  to  Baleigh,  and  with  his  wife 
opened  a  girls'  school,  which  in  1872  was  incorporated  into 
Peace  Institute,  in  the  same  city.  He  served  as  a  Chaplain  in 
the  Confederate  army  to  the  close  of  the  war,  and  was  after- 
wards engaged  in  the  supply  of  vacant  churches  and  in  mis- 
sionary labor  in  Orange  Presbytery,  while  opportunity  and  the 
infirnn'ties  of  age  permitted,  though  often  he  could  only  preach 
while  sitting  down.  His  loss  of  hearing  in  his  seventieth  year, 
and  his  growing  bodil}'  infirmities,  prevented  much  active  ser- 
vice. 

Dr.  Lacy  was  born  in  Prince  Edward  County,  Va.,  August 
5th,  1802.  His  father,  Drnry  Lacy,  was  a  distinguished  Pres- 
byterian minister  and  scholar  in  the  last  centiu'y  and  early  part 
of  this;  who,  having  lost  one  hand  when  a  boy,  and  using  an 
artilicial  one,  was  celebrated  as  the  preacher  with  "  the  silver 


156  KEY.  DRURY  LACY. 

hand  and  the  sih^er  voice."  Drury,  his  youngest  son,  graduated 
at  Hampden  Sidney  College,  Ya.,  when  twenty  years  of  age, 
and  began  teaching  school;  and  at  the  old  liomestead,  Ararat, 
revived  the  Classical  Institute  of  his  father.  In  Dec,  1824, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Williana  Wilkinson.  He  was  con- 
verted under  the  preaching  of  Dr.  Nettleton  in  Prince  Ed- 
ward in  1828,  and  immediately  entered  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  walking  in  daily  from  Ararat,  distant  three  miles. 
April  11th,  1831,  he  was  licensed  by  West  Hanover  Pres- 
bytery, labored  efficiently  in  its  mission  fields,  and  built  three 
fair  churches  therein,  having  raised  most  of  the  funds  himself. 
In  April,  1833,  he  was  ordained  Evangelist  by  East  Hanover 
Presbytery.  Soon  after  this,  as  we  have  seen,  he  came  to  New 
Bern.  In  May,  1846,  after  twenty-one  years  of  Jiappy  married 
life,  he  lost  his  wife  in  Raleigh,  N.  C.  In  November,  1849, 
he  married  Mary  Ritchie  Rice,  eldest  daughter  of  Rev.  Benja- 
min H.  Rice,  D.  D.,  who  in  his  early  days  lived  and  taught 
in  New  Bern.  This  union  lasted  for  nearly  thirty-one  years, 
when  Mrs.  Lacy,  after  a  beautiful  and  useful  life,  fell  on  sleep 
in  Jesus,  and  left  her  husband  in  a  lonely  and  infirm  old  age. 
His  closing  days,  were  spent  with  his  son.  Rev.  William  S. 
Lacy — the  honored  Stated  Clerk  of  the  Synod  of  North  Caro- 
lina— in  Jonesboro,  N.  C.  There,  August  1st,  1884,  after  en- 
tering his  room,  he  quietly,  peacefully,  and  suddenly  passed 
from  all  earthly  scenes — alone  with  God — to  the  rest  and  joy  of 
the  faithful  servant. 

In  his  many  afflictions  he  rejoiced  in  the  consolations  of  that 
Gospel  he  ministered  to  others.  He  wrote,  "  I  feel  the  afflic- 
tion most  severely,  but  strange  !  He  gives  me  grace  to  bear  it. 
Somehow  I  can  lift  up  my  head  and  my  eyes  to  heaven  and  re- 
joice in  my  tears!"  "  One  thing  I  know,  one  who  is  infinitely 
wise,  powerful  and  good,  orders  everything,  even  to  the  falling 
of  a  sparrow,  and  what  he  does  is  right."  "  I  can  do  nothing. 
I  can  only  suffer.  The  last  line  of  Milton's  beautiful  sonnet  on 
his  blindness  comforts  me,  '  they  also  serve  who  only  stand  and 
wait.' " 

In  personal  appearance  Dr.  Lacy  was  tall  and  of  remarkably 


REV.  DRURY  LACY.  157 

imposing  presence  in  his  old  age.  His  voice  was  strong  and 
deep,  and  he  was  an  excellent  singer.  The  accompanying  por- 
trait represents  him  while  at  Davidson  College,  and  the  expres- 
sion is  sweet  and  attractive,  reminding  one  of  Doddridge,  or  one 
of  the  olden  and  primitive  bishops,  ready  for  translation.  The 
following  are  some  observations  made  at  the  time  on  his  preach- 
ing in  New  Bern  :  "  The  sermon  was  tremendously  pointed  and 
alarming.  May  God  add  an  abundant  blessing  !"  On  a  rainy 
afternoon,  when  only  about  sixty  persons  were  present,  "Mr.  J. 
Backiiouse  and  Mr.  William  Beers  sat  with  me.  The  preacher 
was  animated,  luminous,  clear,  searching.  We  were  richly  paid 
for  turning  out  in  the  rain."  "Andrew  Kichardson  and  James 
Taylor,  Esq.,  sat  with  me.  The  sermon  seemed  to  make  the 
one  to  handle  the  hymn  book,  and  the  other  to  chew  tobacco 
very  diligently  and  unconsciously." 

Orange  Presbytery  adopted  the    following  Minute   unani- 
mously : 


"  On  August  1,  1884-,  Rev.  Drury  Lacy,  D.  D.,  in  the  82d 
year  of  his  age,  entered  into  the  rest  that  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God. 

"  After  a  long  life  of  activity  in  responsible  positions,  he  was 
granted,  in  the  congenial  home  of  his  son,  a  period  of  quiet 
and  happy  waiting  for  the  summons,  which,  though  coming  sud- 
denly, yet  came  so  gently  as  to  leave  on  his  face  a  prophecy  of 
the  everlasting  peace  to  which  it  welcomed  him.  'So  he 
bringeth  them  into  their  desired  haven.'  The  Presbytery  of 
Orange  desires  to  put  on  record  its  appreciation  of  him  as  a 
man  and  as  a  preacher,  of  his  gifts  and  of  his  graces;  to  thank 
God  for  the  example  he  has  given  us  of  consecration  to  the 
Master,  of  enthusiastic  zeal  in  church  work,  and  of  lively  and 
intelligent  interest  in  all  questions  of  concern  to  the  kingdom 
of  God — an  interest  preserved  unabated  to  the  last. 

"The  Presbytery  also  hereby  expresses  its  sense  of  personal 


158  REV.  DRURY  LACY. 

bereavement  in  liis  death,  and  tenders  its  prayers  and  its  sym- 
pathies to  those  most  nearly  affected.  '  But  when  the  fruit  is 
ripe^  immediately  he  putteth  in  tlie  sickle,  because  the  harvest 
is  come.' 

'■^Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  paper  be  sent  by  the  Stated 
Clerk  to  the  family  of  the  deceased,  and  offered  for  publication 
in  the  North  Carolina  Presbyterian,  the  Central  Presbyterian^ 
and  the  Christian  Observer.'''' 


A  paper,  similar  in  affectionate  appreciation  of  the  venerable 
and  beloved  deceased  brother,  was  ado^^ted  by  the  Synod  of 
North  Carolina.  Dr.  Lacy  was  the  Moderator  of  the  Synod 
in  1846,  in  Greensboro. 


1837  AND  1838.  159 


1837  an6  1808. 

Little  can  be  gleaned  about  tlie  affairs  of  the  church  during 
these  years.  Rev.  J.  O.  Steadman,  of  Fayetteville,  N.  C, 
visited  the  church  by  invitation,  and  preached  in  January  and 
March,  1837,  several  times.  In  February  and  May,  Rev.  Mr. 
Shaw,  Pastor  of  the  Washington  Church,  held  a  number  of 
services,  and  administered  the  Lord's  Supper.  Washington 
and  New  Bern  were  always  holding  up  each  others  hands  in  a 
most  brotherly  spirit.  In  February,  also,  Rev.  J.  D.  Mitchell, 
the  Secretary  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  of 
Foreign  Missions,  was  here  and  preached  on  Sabbath  and  in 
the  week.  He  was  a  man  of  mark  and  pulpit  power,  and  evi- 
dently impressed  the  people  most  favorably.  After  consulta- 
tion by  the  oflBcers  of  the  Church  and  some  of  the  members, 
and  finding  that  they  could  easily  raise  a  salary  of  $800,  at  a 
called  meeting  of  the  congregatitm,  Mr.  Wm.  Ilollister,  chair- 
man, on  Friday,  March  3, 1837,  a  unanimous  call  was  given  to 
Mr.  Mitchell  to  become  the  pastor  of  this  Church.  This  call 
was  forwarded  through  Rev.  Dr.  Lacy,  and  Mr.  Mitchell  re- 
plied tln-ough  him,  asking  for  farther  time  to  consider  the  mat- 
ter concerning  the  adequacy  of  the  salary,  etc.,  and  expressing 
his  high  estimate  of  the  people.  His  services  were  solicited 
at  this  time  in  Wilmington,  N.  C,  and  in  Philadelpliia.  No 
other  particulars  have  been  gathered  about  tliis  l)usiness;  and 
it  is  presumed  that  he  finally  declined  the  hivitation. 

The  Rev. Rankin  was  probably  supplying  the  pulpit 

some  part  of  this  vacancy. 


160  EEV.  DANIEL  STRATTON. 


Mr.  Stratton  was  the  next  pastor;  He  was  born  in  Bridge- 
ton,  N.  J.,  September  28, 1814,  Daniel  P.  Stratton,  his  father, 
was  an  elder  in  that  church.  While  an  infant  his  mother  died, 
having  dedicated  him  anew — on  her  death-bed — to  the  Chris- 
tian ministry.  Being  piously  reared,  he  made  a  public  profes- 
sion of  religion  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Bridgeton,  when 
thirteen  years  old.  With  pleasure  he  reverted  to  his  Sabbath- 
scliool  teacher,  Judge  L.  Q.  C.  Elmer,  of  New  Jersey,  as  one 
of  the  means  of  his  conversion.  He  graduated  at  Princeton 
College  in  1833,  at  the  age  of  nineteen;  taught  for  a  year  in 
Salem,  N,  J,;  entered  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  1834, 
but  on  account  of  failing  health  came  to  Union  Theological 
Seminary  in  Virginia,  where  he  finished  his  course  in  1837, 
He  was  then  licensed  by  West  Hanover  Presbytery,  Ya.,  April 
13,  1837,  At  once  he  returned  to  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood, 
being  strongly  drawn  thither,  for  he  was  soon  ?na)'?'ied.  But 
his  feeble  health  demanding  a  milder  climate,  he  set  out  in  the 
Autumn  with  his  wife  to  seek  a  southern  field  of  labor.  He 
walked  by  faith;  and  the  Lord  God  directed  his  steps  to  New 
Bern. 

I  do  not  know  the  date  of  his  arrival  in  this  city,  or  of  his 
call  to  this  Church ;  but  these  events  occurred  the  same  Fall,  or 
in  the  Winter  of  1837-'8.  Roanoke  Presbytery  held  an  ad- 
journed meeting  here  May  4,  1838.  Mr.  Stratton  was  then 
received  as  a  licentiate  from  West  Hanover  Presbytery ;  the 
call  was  placed  in  his  hands  and  accepted,  and  he  was  ordained 
and  installed  at  3  P.  M.,  5th  May.  Kev.  Samuel  P.  Graham, 
D.  D.,  presided,  aud  gave  the  charge  to  the  Pastor;  Rev.  Drury 
Lacy  preached  the  sermon;  and  Rev.  W.  A.  Shaw,  M,  D,, 
charged  the  people.  During  this  meeting  Rev.  Solomon  J. 
Love,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Armagh,  Ireland,  sat  as  a  cor- 
responding member. 


x.AuiiAViMJ)y  J.^AHiAiA' 


>^2>^b^ 


PA3TUH    UK   Tilli  FIHST  PHF.aHYTERTAN     CHURGH   SALKM    N.J, 


REV.  DANIEL  STRATTON.  161 

Mr,  Stratton's  pastorate  continued  a  little  over  fourteen 
years.  It  was  dissolved  by  Orange  Presbytery,  28tli  July, 
1852,  when  he  was  dismissed  to  the  Presbytery  of  West  Jersey. 
During  this  time  Roanoke  Presbytery  met  in  New  Bern,  as 
stated ;  and  Orange  Presbytery  held  two  sessions  here,  one  on 
April  27,  1841,  and  the  other  April  G,  1848.  In  1838,  when 
Mr.  Stratton  was  installed,  the  membership  was  eighty-one; 
in  1852,  it  was  ninety-eight;  and  during  his  incumbency  it  had 
l)cen  one  huiuh-ed  and  two.  The  total  ininibcr  of  additions 
during  his  pastorate  was  forty-eight;  the  largest  number  re- 
ceived in  any  one  year  being  Hfteen  (/.  <?.,  ten  on  examination, 
and  five  by  certificate,)  in  18;3S-'9.  His  health  was  exceed- 
ingly feeble.  Judging  from  a  private  diary  in  my  possession, 
that  covers  nearly  two  years  (May,  1839  to  February,  1841), 
and  records  nearly  every  service  he  held,  he  was  very  faithful, 
often  pj-eaching  with  great  ditficulty,  and  frequently  compelled 
to  omit  a  service. 

At  twenty-three  years  of  age  his  head  was  already  grey, 
and  the  appearance  of  age  was  strangely  mingled  with  the 
freshness  of  youth.  He  had  an  exceedingly  sweet  expression 
of  countenance — as  seen  in  his  excellent  portrait — very  gentle 
manners,  and  a  manly  form.  His  naturally  lovely  character 
was  beautified  and  purified  by  grace,  and  mellowed  Ijy  much 
suffering,  so  that  he  was  indeed  a  son  of  consolation  to  all  af- 
flicted sairrts.  Full  thus  of  tenderness  and  experimental  sym- 
pathy, he  was  truly  loved  by  alL  He  was  a  sound  preacher, 
with  something  of  sameness  in  his  sermons,  wliich  were  con- 
solatory, practical  and  edifying,  rather  than  warning  or  reprov- 
ing, yuch  a  rich  unction  pervaded  his  discourses,  that  it  was 
said  in  New  Bern,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  of  him,  "  'Uiat  man 
fills  my  ideal  of  ike  lelnved  disciple.''^  His  life-ministry  was 
eminently  blessed;  his  very  infirmities  becoming  an  element  of 
power,  l»y  the  sympathy  and  attention  they  aroused  in  the 
hearer.  One  custom  of  his,  pleasantly  remembered  in  New 
Bern,  was  to  stand  on  the  steps  by  the  pulpit,  after  tlie  bene- 
diction, and  shake  lumds  with  the  congregation.  The  children 
all  liked  to  shake  his  hand  then,  though  he  never  said  a  word ; 


162  REV.  DANIEL  STRAITON. 

but  his  expressive  and  genial  smile  was  the  attraction  and  the 
reward.  He  made  liis  Bible-class  pleasant,  and  so  far  as  his 
weakness  allowed,  was  a  model  Pastor. 

Mr.  Stratton  was  called  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Salem, 
N.  J.,  23d  June,  1852,  and  was  installed  there  as  pastor  on 
14th  October  ensuing.  His  ministry  continued  fourteen  years, 
until  his  death,  on  Friday  morning,  24:th  August,  1866.  He 
had  written  his  fourteenth  anniversary  sermon,  and  had  given 
notice  at  his  services  on  5th  August  that  he  would  preach  it 
on  the  next  Sabbath.  After  his  death  it  was  read  to  the  con- 
gregation on  the  evening  of  26tli  August.  On  his  death-bed 
Mr.  Stratton  "spoke  of  New  Bern,  and  said  that  he  had  never 
received  an  unkind  word  there,  but  had  always  been  treated 
lovingly."  Among  his  last  expressions  were,  "God  knows 
best ;"  "  whatever  God  does  is  best ;"  "  as  thy  day  so  shall  thy 
strength  be."  At  11  o'clock  Friday  night  he  repeated,  "He 
has  been  with  me  in  six  troubles;  in  the  seventh  he  will  not 
forsake  me."  Then  he  recited  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  pro- 
nounced the  apostolic  benediction.  His  last  words  were, 
"  What  thou  doest,  do  quickly." 

He  enjoyed  the  rich  consolations  of  the  Gospel  in  his  own 
soul,  and  his  end  was  peace.  He  died  almost  in  the  midst  of 
a  glorious  work  of  grace,  in  which  nearly  forty  were  added  to 
his  fold,  as  the  Master's  under  shepherd.  "The  crown  fell 
upon  his  brow  almost  before  the  armor  was  laid  aside." 

tribute  of  tftc  lletu  Bern  CCturcfi> 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the  New  Bern  Church  was 
reorganized,  the  following  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Strat- 
ton was  adopted  by  the  session : 

"Whekeas,  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Bern,  N.  C, 
has  heard  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  death  of  Rev.  Daniel 
Stratton,  of  Salem,  N.  J.,  who  for  fourteen  years  was  their 
beloved  and  honored  Pastor ; 

'■^Resolved^  That  while  we  recognize  the  hand  of  a  wise  and 
holy  God,  in  removing  him  from  earth  to  the  enjoyment  of 
that  higher  and  nobler  life   beyond  the  grave,  we  feel  that 


REV.  DANIEL  STRATTON.  163 

deatli  has  taken  from  us  a  friend,  a  brother,  yea,  a  spiritual 
fatlier. 

^^Jiesoli'sd,  That  we  the  Session  of  this  Church  liereby  record 
our  appreciation  and  affection  for  one  so  dearly  beloved  by  our 
Church  and  coniinnnity,  for  his  gentle,  pure,  and  benevolent 
life  as  a  citizen;  for  his  deep  and  ardent  piety  as  a  Christian; 
for  his  zeal  and  usefulness  as  an  ambassador  of  Jesus  Christ; 
for,  by  l)Oth  precept  and  example,  he  exhibited  and  taught  the 
divine  power  and  priceless  worth  of  the  religion  he  professed, 
and  called  forth  from  all  who  knew  him  this  endorsement, 
*Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright.' 

'■'■Resolved^  That  we  tender  to  the  family  and  friends  of  the 
deceased  our  heart-felt  sympathy  for  their  irreparable  loss,  and 
commend  them  to  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  smiteth  us  for 
our  eternal  good. 

'■'■Resolced^  That  the  above  resolutions  be  spread  upon  our 
Minutes,  and  that  a  copy  be  sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased, 
and  that  they  be  published  in  the  Philadelphia  Preahyteriany 
and  in  the  North  Carolina  Presbyterian ^ 

In  October,  1835,  all  that  portion  of  Orange  Presbytery  lying 
East  of  the  western  boundary  lines  of  Granville  and  Wake,  and 
a  part  of  Cumberland  Counties,  was  set  off  into  a  new  Presby- 
tery, called  Koanoke.  In  October,  1839,  this  ephemeral  crea- 
tion was  dissolved,  and  its  territory  restored  to  Orange  again. 
This  will  account  for  the  mention  of  the  dissolution  of  Dr. 
Lacy's  pastorate,  and  the  constitution  of  Mr.  Stratton's  by 
Poanok'e  Presbytery,  while  in  all  other  cases  Oraixje  only  is 
named. 


11 


164  REV.  THOMAS  FRASER. REV.  THOMAS  G.  WALL. 


After  Mr.  Stratton's  departure  in  1852,  the  Church  was  sup- 
plied for  a  short  time  by  Rev.  Thomas  Fraser,  now  living  in 
Oakland,  California,  without  any  charge.  In  April,  1854,  the 
membership  had  fallen  from  ninety  eight  to  seventj'-five,  of 
whom  twelve  were  colored. 


Was  the  next  Pastor.  Mr,  Wall,  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia, 
graduated  at  Nassau  Hall,  Princeton,  N.  J.,  in  1848,  and  en- 
tered Princeton  Theological  Seminary.  His  ministry  began 
about  1850.  I  have  been  unable  to  obtain  liis  portrait  and  a 
specific  sketch  of  his  ministerial  career.  For  a  while  he 
preached  to  churches  in  Fauquier  County,  Ya.  He  came  to 
New  Bern  in  1854.  On  December  8th,  1854,  Orange  Presby- 
tery installed  him  Pastor  of  this  Church.  Rev.  James  Phillips, 
D.  D.,  presided  and  preached  the  sermon.  Rev.  A.  Wilson, 
D.  D.,  charged  the  Pastor,  and  Rev.  Drury  Lacy,  D.  D., 
charged  the  people.  He  was  received  from  Winchester  Pres- 
bytery, Ya. 

In  1825,  he  married  Miss  Janet  Hollister,  of  New  Bern.  In 
April,  1857,  he  made  a  trip  with  his  family  to  Europe,  and 
was  absent  until  August,  1858.  During  this  absence  the 
Church  was  supplied  by 


BEV.  MOSES  T.   HARRIS. REV.  T.  G.  WALL.  165 


Ben.  illo$c$  W.  liiirrts. 

Whoso  name  was  changed  afterwards  to  Edward  Harris.  In 
1858-'9  Mr.  Harris  was  the  assistant  editor  of  the  North  Car- 
olina Presbyterian .  He  was  a  very  eccentric  man,  and  amus- 
ing traditions  perpetuate  his  oddities  while  here.  His  home 
was  Newburyport,  Mass.,  wliere  he  lived  for  some  years,  and 
recently  died,  (jld  and  inlirm  in  body  and  mind. 

After  his  return  from  Europe,  Mr.  Wall  continued  his  pas- 
torate here  until  the  Summer  of  1861.  After  the  secession  of 
North  Carolina,  and  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  war,  he  re- 
turned to  the  ISToi'th,  and  at  the  Fall  Meeting  of  Orange  Pres- 
bytery applied  by  letter  foi-  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  rela- 
tion with  the  New  Bern  Church.  On  account  of  the  Presby- 
tery having  to  wait  to  hear  from  the  Church,  this  dissolution 
was  not  formally  effected  until  April  10th,  1862,  though  the 
actual  pastorate  had  ceased  the  previous  Summer  or  Fall.  In 
April,  1857,  the  membership  was  eighty-four,  of  whom  eight 
were  colored;  in  1858  and  1859,  it  was  seventy-five;  in  1860, 
it  was  eighty.     There  are  no  statistics  for  1861. 

For  some  years  Mr.  Wall  resided  in  Euglewood,  N.  J., 
where  he  conducted  a  female  school.  He  preached  for  some 
time  to  a  Church  in  Tenefly,  an  adjoining  settlement.  Since 
1878  he  has  been  the  Superintendent  of  the  Presbyterian  Hos-. 
pital  in  New  York  City.     He  is  about  sixty-two  years  old. 


166  1861-1866. 


1881X8156. 

From  the  Summer  of  1861  until  the  advent  of  the  present 
Pastor,  tlie  Church  was  without  regular  services,  except  for  a 
few  months, — after  Mr.  Wall's  departure  to  the  North, — when 
Rev.  John  F.  Baker  supplied  the  pulpit.  He  left  on  the  fall 
of  New  Bern,  14th  March,  1862.  Indeed,  at  that  time  the 
citizens  who  could  do  so  left  their  homes,  and  the  congrega- 
tion was  practically  destroyed.  The  Church,  lecture-room  and 
manse  were  all  taken  possession  of  by  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment authorities,  and  used  in  connection  with  the  extensive 
Hospital,  whose  wards  covered  the  quiet  and  umbrageous  pre- 
mises. On  Johnson  Street,  between  the  manse  and  Mr. 
George  Allen's,  stood  the  dead-house,  on  the  ground  of  both 
properties,  wliile  the  manse  served  for  surgeon's  quarters. 
In  the  Winter  and  Spring  of  1865,  the  Church  itself  w-as  fitted 
up  as  a  hospital  for  the  wounded.  Mr.  Thomas  A.  Henry,  now 
a  member  of  this  Church,  and  Mr.  Roswell  Mills,  now  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  were  successful  in  preventing  the  proposed 
tearing  up  the  pews,  and  in  having  them  planked  over  for  the 
beds. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  an  effort  was  made  by  some  Con- 
gregationalists  here  to  establish  their  Society,  as  there  were 
some  preachers  among  them.  They  were  granted  the  use  of 
our  Church,  while  there  were  no  Presbyterian  supplies.  At  the 
urgent  request  of  the  Session,  Orange  Presbytery  directed  sev- 
eral ministers  to  visit  and  preach  for  the  New  Bern  Church 
until  some  permanent  arrangement  could  be  made.  Under 
this  plan,  services  were  secured  once  a  month  by  Rev.  J. 
Henry  Smith,  D.  D.,  Rev.  P.  H.  Dalton,  and  other  clergy- 
men. 

After  long  and  annoying  delay  on  the  part  of  the  civil  au- 
thorities, the  last  hospital  building  was  pulled  down  in  Septem- 


KEY.  L.  C.  VASS.  167 

ber,  1866.  From  ill-usage,  destruction  of  fences,  natural  de- 
cay of  property  without  the  o\\nei''s  supervision,  and  the  usual 
recklessness  of  soldiers,  the  whole  property,  when  fully  re- 
covered, was  in  very  bad  condition.  Kelief  was  sought  from 
tlie  Government  for  the  long  use  and  injury  of  the  premises, 
and  the  petition  was  recommended  and  enforced  by  Hon. 
David  Heaton,  who  had  represented  the  District  in  Congress, 
was  cofirnizant  of  all  the  facts  from  residinii;  in  New  Bern  dur- 
ing  the  troublous  scenes,  and  was  himself  a  member  of  the 
congregation  ;  but  the  application  failed. 

Nothing  now  remained  but  resolutely  to  face  the  difficult 
situation,  secure  a  leader  as  soon  as  possible,  and  gathering  up 
every  energy,  with  earnest  prayer  to  the  great  Head  of  the 
Clnirch  for  wisdom,  favor  and  strength,  proceed  to  i-el)uild  the 
fallen  walls  of  Jerusalem,  as  far  and  as  fast  as  possible.  Just 
then  Mr.  Emmet  Cuthbert,  an  elder  of  this  Church,  but  who 
liad  been  residing  in  Petersburg,  Va.,  recommended  to  the  con- 
gregation the 

Who  is  the  present  Pastor,  was  then  a  member  of  West  Han- 
over Presbytery,  and  was  called  to  take  charge  of  this  Church 
on  the  28th  of  May,  1866.  He  accepted  the  call,  subject  to 
the  action  of  the  Presbyteries,  June  9tli,  arrived  in  New  Bern 
on  Friday,  July  6th,  1866,  and  preached  his  first  sermon,  after 
that  acceptance,  at  10  A.  M.,  on  the  first  Sabbath  in  July,  in 
the  Lecture-room. 

The  Church  was  then  undergoing  repairs,  which  were  greatly 
needed  from  long  neglect  and  ill  usage.  When  Mr.  Vass  first 
visited  the  Church  l)y  invitation  on  the  third  and  fourth  Sab- 
baths in  May,  1866,  three  faithful  and  warm  hearted  members, 
viz.,  Mrs.  Abigail  B.  Lewis,  Miss  Henrietta  N.  Dewy,  and 
Miss  Mary  E.  Jones,  with  many  apprehensions  but  commend- 
able cheerfulness  and  faith,  began  to  canvass  the  congregation 


168  FINANCIAL  WORK. 

with  a  subscription-paper  to  raise  $500.  This  M^as  quite  an  in- 
snfEcient  sum;  but  such  was  the  pecuniary  prostration  of  the 
whole  community,  that  it  was  not  deemed  prudent  to  try  for 
more.  But  such  a  hearty  welcome  M-as  accorded  to  the  ear- 
nest and  popular  committee,  that  before  Mr.  Vass  left  New 
Bern,  the  caption  of  the  paper  was  changed  to  $750.  The 
money  was  raised,  repairs  were  liegun  at  once  upon  the  Church, 
and  the  Pastor  elect  preached  in  it  on  the  second  or  third  Sab- 
bath after  his  return  in  July.  These  early  labors  sprung  from 
a  sanctitied  spirit  of  true  self-sacrifice  and  love  for  God  and 
his  cause;  and  as  the  Church  has  grown,  it  has  continued  to 
work  in  this  same  happy  Gospel  spirit.  God  has  blessed  them 
in  their  lal)ors,  according  to  his  stable  promise  to  reward  his 
faithful  servants.  Queen  Elizabeth  of  England  having  desired 
one  of  her  subjects  to  undertake  a  foreign  mission,  when  he 
sought  to  excuse  himself  therefrom  on  plea  of  his  own  press- 
ing affairs,  said  to  him,  "Do  you  attend  to  my  business,  and  I 
will  attend  to  yours."  God  thus  speaks  to  his  own ;  seek  ye  first 
the  kingdom  of  God :  trust  him,  and  he  will  always  and  infal- 
libly watch  and  bless  the  obedient  and  the  diligent. 


An  abstract  of  the  monetary  operations  for  a  few  years  of 
this  formative  period  will  emphatically  illustrate  the  worthy 
zeal  of  a  small  band  of  earnest  Christians.  In  1866,  only  one 
half  of  which  year  did  the  Church  have  a  Pastor,  there  was 
raised  $3,340,89.  About  $2000  was  spent  on  repairs;  $100 
was  given  by  resolution  of  the  Session,  "That  in  view  of  the 
desolate  condition  of  our  sister  Church  in  Washington,  N.  C, 
and  our  sincere  sympathy  therewith,  we  will  take  up  a  collec- 
tion to  aid  in  rebuilding  their  burnt  sanctuary;"  $111,  were 
spent  on  the  Sabbath-school;  and  $160  for  the  poor,  Presby- 
terial  assessment,  etc.  At  this  time  the  furnace,  at  a  cost  of 
$300,  and  carpets  and  cushions,  were  procured. 

In  J  867,  the  amount  raised  was  $2,406.  Of  this  $200  went 
to  the  Assembly's  committees;  $706  for  further  repairs  of  the 


MEMBERSHIP.  169 

Church,  sustaining  tlie  poor,  Sabbath-school,  and  current  ex- 
penses; and  the  balance  for  the  Pastor's  salary. 

In  1868,  the  income  was  $2,558,  about  $300  of  which  was 
sent  to  the  Pastor  by  some  friends  of  the  work.  This  year 
nearly  $500  were  expended  in  repairs;  $87  for  Sabbath- 
school;  for  Missions,  Education,  etc.,  nearly  $300;  and  the  bal- 
ance on  the  poor,  cui-rent  expenses,  and  Pastor's  salary.  For 
the  first  six  months  of  1809  the  receipts  were  $985,  which 
were  disbursed  in  Pastor's  salary,  Sustcntation,  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, Publication,  gas-iixtures  and  fencing. 

By  the  close  of  the  first  three  years  of  tliis  pastorate,  on  1st 
Jul}',  1869,  this  exhibit  shows  a  total  contribution  from  the 
congregation  of  $9,252.99,  or  more  than  $3,000  a  year  as  the 
average. 

When  Mr.  Vass  took  charge  of  this  congregation,  there 
were  only  twenty-nine  (29)  communing  members  present. 
Four  of  these  were  males,  viz.:  Charles  Slover  and  George 
Allen,  ruling  elders,  and  Alexander  Miller,  Sr.,  and  Alexander 
Latliam;  the  last  named  gentleman  living  in  the  country 
across  the  Neuse  River.  Fourteen  more  members  could  be 
counted,  who  were  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States,  but 
unlikely  to  return  to  New  Bern.  As  previously  stated, 
all  sessional  records  had  been  lost.  After  a  while  six  more 
names  of  members  were  discovered.  It  was  this  gallant 
little  band  that,  strong  in  faith  and  hope,  began  to  build  the 
fallen  temple  of  the  Lord.  The  spirit  of  Lydia  and  Priscilla, 
as  well  as  of  Nehemiali,  Apollos  and  Paul,  animated  them ; 
nay,  the  zealous  spirit  of  the  blessed  Redeemer  kindled  their 
Christian  devotion. 

Sptrttttnl  BttKCktng. 

God's  Spirit  was  vouchsafed  to  this  working  Churdi,  and  in 
these  three  years  there  were  added  to  the  communion  list  fifty- 
seven  (57)  men)ber6,  chiefly  on  examination  and  profession  of 


170  SPIKITUAL  BUILDING. 

faith.  Thus  the  reg;ister  showed  one  hundred  and  six  (106) 
names.  But  seven  had  died,  and  fourteen  had  been  dismissed, 
so  the  actual  membership  was  eighty-five  (85). 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Session  was  in  the  Pastor's  study, 
on  the  evening  of  Monday,  August  20th,  1866.  Tlie  first 
communion  since  tlie  close  of  the  w^ar  was  administered  by 
Mr.  Yass  on  Sabbath  morning,  11th  Noveinber,  1866,  when 
four  members  were  received  on  certificate,  viz.:  Misses  Harriet 
K.  Slover,  Elizabetli  Slover,  and  Mary  E.  Jones,  and  Mrs. 
E.  W.  Bissell,  and  three  on  examination  as  to  their  faith  in  a 
crucified  and  atoning  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  viz.:  Mrs.  Mary  J. 
Wallace,  Mrs.  Sarah  K.  Ilollister  and  Miss  Henrietta  Dewey. 
During  the  whole  history  of  the  Churcli,  the  largest  accession 
at  one  time  was  during  a  gracious  outpouring  of  God's  Holy 
Spirit,  in  February,  March  and  April,  1867.  Assistance  was 
rendered  the  Pastor  in  this  season  of  grace  by  Rev.  J.  Henry 
Smith,  D.  D.,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C,  and  Rev.  George  D. 
Armstrong,  D.  D.,  of  Norfolk,  Va.  On  Sabbath,  7th  April, 
thirty  (30)  publicly  declared  their  love  for  Jesus,  and  for  the 
first  time  came  to  feed  on  the  emblems  of  our  dear  Lord's 
broken  body  and  shed  blood.  At  the  same  time  four  were 
also  received  by  certificate,  making  the  whole  addition  thirty- 
four  (31).  The  total  number  received  in  1867  was  thirty-nine 
(39).  In  this  period  were  baptized  three  adults  and  twenty- 
four  children. 

From  the  organization  of  the  Church  to  1861,  there  were 
only  five  years  when  more  than  from  one  to  eight  additions 
were  made  to  the  membership,  viz.:  in  1830,  Mr.  Osborne, 
Pastor,  fifteen  were  ]'ecei\ed;  in  1832,  twenty -nine;  and  in 
1833,  fourteen,  Mr.  Hurd  being  supply  and  Mr.  Osborne  help- 
ing; in  1839,  fifteen,  Mr.  Stratton,  Pastor;  and  in  1857, 
twelve,  Mr.  Wall,  pastor. 

Continuing  this  bi'ief  review  to  the  present,  another  large 
outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  occurred  in  1876,  when  twenty- 
seven  (27)  were  added  on  profession  of  their  faith.  The 
Lord  has  signally  blessed  this  vine  of  his  own  planting.  Yet 
sometimes  Christian  graces  have  been  low  indeed,  and  Zion's 


SYSTEMATIC  BENEVOLENCE.  171 

ways  have  mourned,  while  few  have  songlit  the  Lord.  In 
these  sad  hours  what  can  God's  children  do?  They  are 
■called  to  renew  their  lirst  love  and  their  early  vows,  to  wrest- 
ling prayer,  to  watchfulness  and  earnest  work,  and  kindling 
hope.  Great  cause  of  thankfulness  exists,  that  since  this  pas- 
torate hegan  up  to  the  last  Preshyterial  Report,  the  total  addi- 
tions to  the  Church  have  been  one  hundred  and  tifty-six  (156), 
iind  the  number  of  baptisms  one  hundred  and  forty-three. 
After  deaths  and  removals  are  deducted,  the  register  shows  one 
hundred  and  fourteen  mcmbei'S — a  larger  number  than  ever 
before  in  the  church's  history.  In  Mr.  Stratton's  administra- 
tion, its  membership  ascended  to  one  hundred  and  two  (102); 
but  from  18-18  it  decreased,  until  it  was  only  seventy-live  (75) 
in  1853,  and  eighty  (80)  in  1860.  It  is  also  worthy  of  men- 
tion, that  in  the  special  services  held  on  conmiunion  seasons,  and 
at  other  times  during  the  present  pastorate,  most  valuable  assis- 
tance has  been  rendered  by  Rev.  B.  F.  Marable,  D.  D.,  Rev.  E.  M. 
Green,  D.  D.,  and  other  brethren  in  the  North  Carolina  Synod. 
Especially  does  Mr.  Marable  live  in  the  hearts  of  the  people 
of  New  Bern,  by  reason  of  his  genial  manners,  and  his  clear, 
tender  and  eloquent  presentations  of  the  claims  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  to  the  full  and  instant  acceptance  by  lost  sinneis. 

Stjsfetnatic  53 cniMio rente* 

The  annual  reports  to  the  General  Assembly  make  manifest 
the  liberality  of  this  Church,  as  a  body,  in  contrilnitions  to  all 
the  general  operations  of  Christ's  kingdom.  Since  our  resus- 
citation, Davidson  College  and  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
Virginia,  have  eat^h  had  a  room  fitted  up  by  this  Chui-ch,  and 
have  also  received  contributions  to  their  funds.  A  scholarship 
has  been  bought  in  Davidson  College,  giving  the  privilege  of  free 
tuition  for  a  student  "///  perpetuo^''  but  it  has  never  been  used. 
Under  a  proposition  made  by  Rev.  J.  Leighton  Wilson,  D.  D., 
Secretary  of  Foreign  Missions,  the  Sabliath-school  has  regularly 
given,  besides  its  other  offerings,  $40  annually  since  lS67-'8 
to  sustain  and  educate  a  scholar  in  China:  and  accordiuir  to  the 


172  OLDEN  RECORDS. 

records  of  the  Foreign  Mission  ofHce,  this  school  and  that  of" 
Prytania-Street  Church,  New  Orleans,  are  the  only  ones  in  the 
whole  Church  wliich  liave  maintained  their  contrilmtions  with- 
out a  break  to  the  present  time.  Many  others  have  given,  and 
some  more  largely,  but  there  have  been  lapses.  The  children 
of  the  Sabbath-school,  numbering  seventy-live,  are  trained  to 
contribute  regularly  in  the  school  to  the  great  causes  repre- 
sented b}^  the  committees  of  the  Church,  and  to  other  worthy 
benevolencies.  While  they  are  instructed  carefully  in  the 
nature  of  tlie  cause  before  them,  and  taught  to  give  on  prin- 
ciple, there  is  a  laudable  spirit  of  emulation  among  them,  and 
many  liave  denied  themselves  some  gratification,  or  have  worked 
diligently,  that  they  might  be  able  to  give  to  the  Lord.  Effi- 
cient and  loving  effort  has  been  devoted  to  accomplish  this  re- 
sult by  the  two  elders,  who  have  been  its  Superintendents  since 
1865,  viz.,  George  Allen  and  William  Hollister,  the  latter  of 
whom  is  now  in  office.  For  the  year  1885,  the  school  raised 
(omitting  cents)  $156 ;  and  gave  for  the  Chinese  Mission  School 
$40;  Sustentation,  $8;  Publication,  $6;  Foreign  Missions,  $10; 
Invalid  Fund,  $11 ;  Evangelistic,  $4 ;  Education,  §6 ;  and  Thorn- 
well  Orphanage,  $23;  i.  e.,  about  $108  for  outside  benevolent 
work  of  the  Church.  Here  is  evidence  of  what  can  be  done 
by  littles,  and  how  children  can  be  induced  to  engage  cheer- 
fully in  the  noblest  schemes  of  tho  Church  by  a  little  prayer- 
ful, persistent,  and  painstaking  endeavor. 

In  1813  New  Bern  has  the  first  credit  of  a  contribution^ 
viz.,  $10,  for  Missions.  In  1820  the  Assembly's  Minutes  re- 
port $5  for  Missions  and  $15  for  Commissioners'  Fund.  No 
Church  gave  more  than  this  last  sum,  and  few  as  much.  In 
1822,  $3  Missions;  $22  Commissioners'  Fund;  and  $50  for 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  given  by  the  Ladies'  Society, 
who  in  their  holy  zeal  began  thus  earl}^  their  noble  work, 
and  set  a  notable  example  for  their  daughters  in  succeeding 
generations.  In  1823,  $150  was  given  to  "Education,"  which 
probably  was  to  make,  with  the  preceding  gift,  $500  for  South- 


RECENT  KECORDS.  173 

ern  Professorship  in  PriiicetOTi  Theological  Seminary.  From 
this  year  to  1835,  the  contributions,  so  far  as  recorded,  ranged 
from  $2  to  $38  to  Commissioners'  Fund,  Missions,  Education, 
and  the  Theological  Seminary,  each,  l)ut  not  with  regulai-ity. 
In  1836,  Missions  received  $90,  and  Education  $110;  and  in 
1837,  Missions  $130,  and  Education  $130.  From  1838-1854, 
$10-$17  are  credited  annually  to  Commissioners'  Fund,  and 
$10-$05  each  to  Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions,  with  some 
breaks;  and  $82  in  two  years  to  Education.  In  1855,  Domes- 
tic Missions,  $68;  Foreign  Missions,  $70,  and  special  for  Edu- 
cation, $700,  and  $154  more  for  the  same  the  next  year.  For 
Domestic  and  Foreign  Missions,  each  $100,  in  1858;  and  the 
following  year,  |200  for  the  former,  and  $241  for  the  latter; 
and  in  1860,  $72  for  the  first,  and  $711  for  the  last  object. 
All  the  causes  were  not  remembered.  The  data  for  the  con- 
gregational expenses  are  not  at  hand,  except  for  1857,  when 
they  were  $1,025.  The  two  large  contributions  of  $700  and 
$711,  arose  partly  from  legacies  left  by  Mrs.  Janet  Hollister, 
who  devised  $50<>  to  each  of  the  following  societies,  viz.,  Bible, 
Education,  Colonization  and  Home  Missions.  Mrs.  Hollister 
also  left  the  interest  of  $  1 ,000  annually  for  the  Pastor  of  the 
New  Bern  Presbyterian  Church;  but  this  last  sum  was  lost 
by  the  late  war,  as  also  was  $1,000  bequeatlied  to  the  Church 
by  Mrs.  Lucretia  Jones,  at  her  death,  August,  1860. 

According  to  the  official  statistics  of  the  General  Assembly, 
the  advance  of  this  Church  in  its  liberality  and  its  general  etH- 
ciency  since  the  late  war,  with  all  its  necessarily  disorganizing 
and  distressing  results,  has  been  both  extraordinary  and  exem- 
plary. 

The  accompanying  tabular  exliibit  will  clearly  present  the 
progress  and  state  of  the  Ciuircirs  tinancial  life  during  this 
period.  Much  of  this  headway  has  sprung  from  tlie  hearty 
adoption  by  the  Church  of  the  envelope  .syUevi  of  contributing, 
which  was  first  introduced  into  Orange  Pi-esbytery  l)y  the  New 
Bern  Church,  and  also  through  the  thoroughly  business  man- 


174 


RECKNT  RECORDS, 


agement  of  the  new  plan  by  Mr.  Geo.  Allen,  who  has  been  the 
Clmrch's  treasurer  and  financial  factotum  since  1860. 


0 

H 

S5 

$ 

0 

•A 
0 

a 
t 

0 

HI 
0 

0 

H 
< 
0 
0 

Q 

55 

0 

H 

1^ 

0  H 

0  a 

H 

>4 

< 

H 

0 
H 

11 

0 

a 

1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 

1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 

$84 
125 
100 

88 
98 
55 
55 
173 
411 
92 
S3 

65 
66 
69 

58 

52 
58 

$50 

73 
99 
SO 

57 

63 
42 

35 
43 

'$35 
81 

52 
51 
53 
46 

50 
91 

48 
49 
48 
49 
44 
44 
49 

$100 
105 
153 

122 

145 
196 

135 
158 
152 
162 
100 
180 
163 
166 

131 

144 

105 
123 

$25 
lOI 
III 
173 
175 
145 
106 
240 

53 
48 
65 
37 
43 
53 
54 
54 
35 
155 

$30 
16 
30 
50 
50 
50 
55 

107 

55 
52 
43 
55 
43 
44 

39 

46 

36 
43 
40 

$4 
5 
5 

'$47 
20 
20 
20 

20 
25 

35 
52 
72 
56 
85 
65 
47 

$202 
261 

344 
432 

506 
621 
810 
668 
454 
477 
484 
460 
473 
5" 
468 
467 

384 
520 

$1942 
3676 
2060 
2237 
1746 
1971 
1676 
1623 
1636 

1959 
2160 

1913 
1992 
1618 
1622 
1708 
1671 
2316 
1802 
1678 

The  "Total"  iu  the  uext  to  the  last  cohiinn  indicates  the  whole  sum 
given  each  year  for  general  benevolent  church  woi'k. 

The  amounts  under  "Congregational"  embrace  Pastor's  salary  and  all 
other  money  spent. 

Collections  for  "Tuskaloosa  Institute,"  for  the  education  of  a  colored 
ministry,  were  only  begun  recently  as  a  separate  cause ;  hence  that  col- 
umn is  not  filled  up. 


A  new  spirit,  too,  seemed  to  be  infused  into  the  membership, 
and  they  were  zealous  to  devise  liberal  things.  Especially 
have  the  female  members  exerted  themselves  to  be  forward 
in  good  works,  and  so  have  been  worthy  inheritors  of  the  zeal 
of  the  early  "Ladies'  Society"  of  1822.  All  the  various  en- 
terprises of  the  Church  are  remembered,  as  well  as  the  Thorn- 


RECENT  RECORDS.  175 

well  Orphanage,  S.  C,  Oxford  Orphan  Asylum,  N.  C,  and 
other  casual  appeals.  It  will  be  manifest  from  the  table,  tiiat 
there  has  been  a  steady  and  reliable  regularity  in  general  work 
and  the  benevolent  contributions  of  the  Congregation  as  a  whole. 
Its  numbers  have  never  been  very  large,  neither  has  this  city  been 
a  gi'owing  commercial  centre.  Yet  the  exhibit  can  be  pointed 
at,  not  in  any  boastful  or  Pharisaic  spirit,  but  with  commend- 
able thankfulness  to  God,  and  reasonable  satisfaction  that  so 
much  has  been  done  by  the  Church  in  its  situation.  It  can  be 
hailed  as  a  happy  augur}'  of  larger  future  usefulness,  under 
the  stinmlus  of  past  success,  and  the  hoped-for  sunshine  of  in- 
creasing membership,  commercial  advance  in  our  city,  and 
richer  blessings  from  the  covenant-keeping  God  of  our  salva- 
tion. If  all  in  any  Church  will  do  what  each  can  do  and  ought 
to  do,  every  organization  would  accomplish  far  more.  Besides 
the  lack  of  true  Christian  consecration,  one  signal  impediment 
oftentimes  is,  that  some  who  do  or  give  nothing,  or  very  little, 
argue  that  the  Church  gives  too  nuich,  and  sends  too  much 
away  for  the  Lord's  work,  when  the  money  ought  to  be  spent 
selfishl}'  at  home.  These  critics  forget  the  sin  of  withholding 
tithes  from  God  to  whom  all  things  belong;  that  large  annual 
results  are  due  to  open-handed  liberality  of  others,  who  bear 
the  burden,  if  burden  there  l)e,  while  they  receive  no  honor 
from  men  for  the  grace  given  to  them ;  and  further,  that  great 
things  can  be  done,  as  was  illustrated  by  our  Sabbath-school 
report,  by  everybody  doing  something,  however  little.  AVes- 
ley's  motto,  "All  at  it,  and  always  at  it,"  and  the  apostolic  in- 
junction to  be  "diligent  in  business,  fervent  in  spirit,  always 
serving  the  Lord,"  enshrined  in  tlie  heart  with  our  Saviour's 
parables  of  the  pounds  and  the  talents,  and  a  thankful  memory 
of  the  precious  blood  that  saves  lost  sinners,  will  hush  every 
selfish  thought,  and  elevate  every  individual  and  every  Church 
into  wider  spheres  of  heavenly  endeavor,  aTid  nobler  and  loftier 
aspirations  after  the  honor  and  reward  of  a  "good  and  faithful 
servant." 


176  KEY.  L.  C.  VASS. 


Mr.  Vass  was  born  in  Fredericksburg,  Ya.,  20th  March,  1831. 
His  father  was  James  Yass,  a  native  of  Forres,  Scotland,  and  a 
grandson  of  the  Laird  of  Skiis,  belonging  to  tlie  historic  High- 
land clan  of  "Cuniming."  His  mother  was  Elizabeth  Braine 
Maury,  daughter  of  Col.  Abram  Maury,  of  the  Revolutionary 
army,  and  lineal  descendant  of  the  Huguenot  families  of  De 
La  Fontaine  and  Maury,  who  escaped  from  France  on  the  re- 
vocation of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  in  1685.  John  De  La  Fon- 
taine was  a  commissioned  officer  in  the  Royal  military  house- 
hold of  Francis  I.  of  France,  and  of  Henry  XL,  Francis  XL, 
and  Charles  XX.  He  was  a  staunch  Protestant.  Xncurring  the 
hatred  of  the  enemies  of  God  and  true  piety,  because  of  his 
exalted  position  as  a  Protestant,  he  with  his  wife  and  valet  were 
brutally  murdered  in  the  night,  on  his  paternal  estate  in  Maine, 
in  1563,  by  armed  assassins  sent  from  tlie  City  of  La  Maus. 
His  descendants  suffered  terrible  persecutions,  and  found  refuge 
in  Great  Britain  and  America.  His  great-grandson,  Rev.  James 
De  La  Fontaine,  escaped  from  France  in  1685,  and  his  family 
emigrated  to  America ;  one  daughter  marrying  another  refugee 
Huguenot,  Rev.  Matthew  Maury,  of  Castel  Mauron,  Gascony. 
Mr.  Yass  from  his  birth  was  dedicated  by  pious  parents  to  the 
Gospel  ministry.  He  was  graduated  from  Princeton  College, 
N.  J.,  after  two  years'  study,  in  a  class  numbering  eighty-three, 
in  1850,  with  the  English  Salutatory,  or  second  honor;  then 
studied  law  in  Fredericksburg,  Ya.;  made  a  profession  of  reli- 
gion and  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Warrenton, 
Ya.,  in  1857;  was  taken  under  charge  of  Winchester  Presby- 
tery as  a  candidate  for  the  Gospel  ministry,  and  went  to  Dan- 
ville Theological  Seminary,  Ky.,  the  same  year ;  went  thence 
to  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Ya.,  in  the  Fall  of  1858,  and 
was  graduated  tliere  in  1860;  was  received  from  Wincliester 


^^.  ^^ 


*■     V     ^   « 


«t\.v01"<?t.    9«\HtVHG    CO    .    aOSTOH 


REV.   L.  C.  VASS,  177 

Presbytery,  and  examined  and  licensed  as  a  probationer  for  tlie 
ministry  by  AVcst  Hanover  Presbytery,  in  Charlottesville,  Va., 
on  Saturday,  2d  June,  1860,  and  went  by  invitation  to  Amherst 
Church,  Va.,  as  Stated  Supply,  on  a  salary  of  $800.  At  the 
session  of  AVest  Hanover  Presbytery,  at  Trinity  Church,  New 
Canton,  Va.,  22d  August,  1860,  a  call  to  the  Amherst  Cluirch 
as  Pastor  was  accepted,  and  he  was  examined  by  the  Presbytery 
at  Amherst  Coni-thout^e,  and  ordained  and  installed  over  that 
Church  on  Friday,  I9th  April,  1861.  He  was  appointed  by 
the  Confederate  Government  Cimplain  of  the  Twenty-seventh 
Virginia  Pegiment  of  Infantry,  in  the  Stonewall  Brigade,  in 
the  Winter  of  1862-'3,  and  joined  his  command  in  winter- 
quarters  at  Moss's  Neck,  near  Guiney's  station,  below  I^'red- 
ericksburg,  before  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville ;  and  continued 
in  the  army  until  the  war  closed;  was  left  with  three  surgeons 
by  Gen.  Earlj',  after  the  battle  of  Monocacy,  in  charge  of  six 
hundred  wounded  Confederates  in  the  hospital  at  Frederick 
City,  Md.,  but  returned  in  a  few  months  under  flag  of  truce  to 
duty,  and  was  ordered  to  Petersburg,  Va.,  as  Chaplain  of  the 
Post,  serving  in  the  hospitals  both  Federal  and  Confederate 
wounded  and  sick.  This  was  only  a  few  months  before  the 
fall  of  Petersburg,  and  the  close  of  the  war. 

Tiie  pastoral  relation  with  the  Amherst  Cliurch  was  dissolved 
15th  April,  1864.  After  the  fall  of  Petersburg  Mr.  Vass 
preached  a  short  time  for  the  Second  Presbyterian  Chui'ch  in 
that  city;  and  then  for  one  year  supplied  Tal)b  Street  Church 
in  the  same  city,  until  June,  1866,  on  a  salary  of  $1,500. 
During  this  year  there  were  seventeen  additions  to  the  Church. 
He  entered  on  his  work  in  New  Bern  in  July,  1866;  was  re- 
ceived from  West  Hanover  Pi-eshytery  by  Orange  Presl)ytery 
at  VV^entworth,  N.  C,  6th  October,  1866  ;  accepted  the  call  of  the 
New  Bern  Church, and  was  installed  in  New  Bern  as  Pastor,  at  11 
A.  M.,  on  the  tirst  Sunday  in  December  (2d  instant],  1866.  liev. 
J.  H.  Smith,  D.  D.,  preached  the  sermon,  charged  the  Pastor, 
and  proposed  the  constitutional  questions;  llev.  H.  G.  Hill,  D. 
D.,  charged  the  people.  The  congregation  was  large,  and  deeply 
interested,  although  the  services  were  unusually  protracted.    Al- 


178  KEV.  L.  C.  VASS. 

ready  this  pastorate  has  continued  nearly  twenty  years,  and  is 
by  far  the  longest  one  in  this  Chnrch's  history;  the  next  longest 
being  that  of  Mr.  Stratton,  which  was  about  fourteen  years. 

On  the  9th  May,  1867,  Mr.  Yass  married  Miss  Mary  E, 
Jones,  daughter  of  Mr.  Frederick  J.  Jones  and  Mrs.  Hannah 
A.  Jones,  of  New  Bern,  and  granddaugliter  of  Mr.  John  Jones, 
one  of  tlie  original  members  of  this  Church.  In  1877  three 
children  of  this  marriage,  all  girls,  and  the  eldest  nearly  eight 
years  old,  died  at  short  intervals,  from  violent  diphtheria.  He 
has  now  two  boys,  Lachlan  Gumming  and  Edward  Smallwood^ 
and  one  girl,  Sadie  Green. 

Four  times  Mr.  Vass  has  been  sent  by  Orange  Presbytery 
as  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assemblies,  meeting  in  Mo- 
bile, New  Orleans,  Little  Kock  and  Augusta,  Ga.  He  was  a 
delegate  from  the  New  Bern  Branch  Alliance  to  the  World's 
Evangelical  Alliance  in  New  York,  Oct.,  1873;  the  represent- 
ative of  the  North  Carolina  Presbyterian  at  the  Presbyterian 
Council  in  Philadelphia,  Sept.-Oct.,  1880;  a  Commissioner 
from  the  Southern  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  to  the 
Ecumenical  Presbyterian  Council  in  Belfast,  Ireland,  June, 
1881;  and  one  of  the  representatives  from  the  United  States 
Evangelical  Alliance  to  the  World's  Evangelical  Alliance,  that 
convened  in  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  Sept.,  1881.  Witli  great 
liberality  the  Churcli  granted  him  a  vacation  of  four  months,  to 
attend  the  last  two  European  Assemblies;  and  during  the  inter- 
val between  the  meetings,  he  made  a  tour  in  Great  Britain, 
France,  Switzerland,  and  Germany. 

Mr.  Yass  is  the  Agent  for  Sabbath-schools  in  both  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Orange  and  the  Synod  of  North  Carolina ;  and  the 
author  of  a  volume  on  "Amusements  and  the  Christain  Life, 
in  tlie  Primitive  Churc]i  and  in  Our  Day,"  published  l)y  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,  Philadelphia;  and  other 
smaller  works. 


PROPERTY  DATA,  179> 


The  lot  No.  309  on  the  Pkn  of  New  Bern,  and  upon  which 
the  Clnirch  is  built,  was  bought  from  Mr.  Edward  Graham,  for 
the  sum  of  $1200.  In  1825  he  executed  the  deed  according 
to  an  agreement  entered  into  in  1819,  and  the  last  paj'ment  of 
$120  was  made  by  Charles  Dewey,  Treasurer  of  the  Trustees  of 
the  Churcli.  From  the  original  deed  the  following  list  of  the 
Trustees  is  copied,  and  theise  are  probably  the  ones  originally 
elected  in  1818,  or  with  few  changes;  viz.  Elias  Hawes,  Ed- 
ward Graham,  Isaac  Taylor,  John  Jones,  William  Hollister, 
Vine  Allen,  Robert  Hay,  Stephen  M.  Chester,  Robert  Prim- 
rose, Silvester  Brown,  E.  C.  King,  and  Charles  Dewy. 

During  the  incumbency  of  Mr.  Stratton,  on  21st  April, 
1842,  the  present  manse  was  purchased  from  John  R.  Green 
for  $1,800,  and  was  conveyed  to  the  Trustees,  who  were  then 
as  follows;  William  Hollister,  Isaac  Taylor,  Robert  Primrose, 
Robert  Hay,  Tiiomas  Sparrow,  Martin  Stevenson,  Jr.,  Charles 
Slover,  Edward  E.  Graham,  Jeremiah  N.  Allen,  Amzi  Ayers, 
and  Richai-d  N.  Taylor. 

ScsstDtt  5iou$e> 

March  12th,  1856,  in  Mr.  Wall's  time,  the  lot.  No.  308^ 
upon  which  the  present  Session-house,  or  Sabbath-school  and 
Lecture-room  stands,  was  bought  of  Wm.  G.  Br^-an,  Clerk  and 
Master  in  Equity,  from  the  estate  of  Edward  Graham,  for  $905. 
The  building  was  erected  in  1858,  and  cost  $1,500.  Changes 
had  taken  place  in  the  Trustees,  who  were  then  as  follows: 
Roi)ert  Prinu'ose,  Charles  Slover,  Fred'k  J.  Jones,  Edward  E. 
Graham,  Alex'r  Miller,  Riciiard  N.  Taylor,  J.  Graham  TuU, 
Emmet  Cuthbcrt,  William  G.  Bryan,  George  F.  Fisher,  and 
Jeremiah  N.  Allen. 
12 


180  DEACONS,  ETC. 

In  January,  1886,  the  Trustees  are  Charles  Slover,  W.  G. 
Bryan,  William  Hollister,  George  Allen,  Alexander  Miller,  Jr., 
Claudius  E.  Foy,  Ami  R.  Dennison,  Asa  Jones,  John  B.  Lane, 
Samuel  W.  Smallwood,  Daniel  Stimson,  Dr.  John  D.  Clarke, 
David  N.  Kilburn,  Thomas  A.  Henry,  and  Dr.  George  Slover. 

This  church  has  never  had  a  Board  of  Deacons  until  recently. 
It  has  not  only  held  its  property  under  the  law  by  Trustees, 
but  has  conducted  its  financial  affairs  by  tbe  same  body  and 
the  Session.  The  Treasurer  of  the  Trustees  has  usually  borne 
the  burden  of  the  work.  Upon  the  reorganization  of  the  con- 
gregation, in  1866,  there  was  no  '•'-deacon  thnher ;''"'  and  there 
was  and  has  continued  to  be  such  demand  for  the  most  conse- 
crated, active,  and  skillful  business  talent  for  the  successful  con- 
duct of  its  general  monetary  operations  and  its  benevolent 
work,  that  the  Church  has  preferred  to  retain  the  cheerful  ser- 
vices of  one  of  its  ruling  elders,  Mr.  George  Allen,  as  its  Trea- 
surer, during  the  past  twenty-five  years.  Recently,  however,  it 
has  been  deemed  best  to  divide  out  this  work,  and  bring  the 
Church  more  exactly  into  full  accord  with  our  scriptural  form 
of  government.  So  at  a  recent  congregational  meeting,  a  ser- 
mon having  been  previously  preached  by  the  Pastor  on  the  di- 
aconate,  six  worthy  members  were  elected  to  the  office  of  dea- 
con. Three  only  of  them  accepted  the  election  and  agreed  to 
serve,  viz.:  Claudius  E.  Foy,  George  N.  Ives,  and  Alexander 
Miller;  and  on  Sabbath  morning,  28th  March,  1886,  they  were 
duly  ordained,  by  the  laying  on  liands  of  the  Pai'ochial  Pres- 
bytery, or  Session,  and  installed  into  their  office. 

Hcccnt  Hcttoxiation* 

Much  care  has  been  bestowed  on  keeping  the  Church  pro- 
perty in  nice  order.  When  extensive  repairs  were  made,  in 
1866,  the  old,  high,  and  close  box-pulpit  was  removed,  and  a 
broad  platform  with  a  handsome  desk  and  gas  pillars  was  sub- 


PROPERTY  DATA. 


181 


stituted  ;  and  I)ack  of  the  pulpit  a  recess  was  made  (wliicli  lias 
recently  been  mucii  improved  by  the  addition  of  some  hand- 
some woodwork),  and  the  front  of  the  galleries  was  lowered. 
A  few  years  ago  a  new  roof  was  put  on  the  Church,  perhaps 
the  iirst  one  since  it  was  built.  In  January,  1886,  the  active 
and  useful  Ladies'  Working  Society  completed  some  necessary 
repairs,  had  the  Church  very  handsomely  repainted  within,  and 
also  the  inside  walls  of  the  Lecture-room,  and  the  exterior  of 
both  buildings,  as  well  as  the  front  fence,  so  that  the  whole  ap- 
pearance of  these  buildings,  and  the  large  and  beautifully  shaded 
grounds,  is  very  attractive.  It  should  always  be  a  welcomed 
pleasure  and  desirable  honor  to  care  for  the  Lord's  house.  This 
recent  work  has  been  done  at  an  expense  of  $905,  which, 
together  with  a  balance  of  $260  due  the  Treasurer  (total, 
$1,165),  has  been  all  paid,  and  the  Church  is  free  of  debt.  This 
is  good  work,  and  ground  of  thankfulness  to  God  for  his  blessing 
on  the  Church's  efforts.  The  newly-elected  deacons  will  thus 
enter  on  their  duties  under  most  favorable  auspices. 


SUNDRY   MEMORANDA. 


A  Presbyterian  Sabbath-school  was  conducted  m  the  East 
room  of  the  Academy  before  the  Church  was  built.  I  cannot 
ascertain  how  early  it  was  established  ;  neither  have  I  heard  of 
any  other  begun  before  this.  The  name  of  the  first  Superin- 
tendent I  have  recovered  is  Mr.  Martin  Stevenson,  in  1835. 
How  long  he  had  been  in  office  then  is  unknown.  He  was  fol- 
lowed in  1835  by  Mr,  Charles  Slover.     Other  Superintendents 

were  Messrs.  R.  N.  Taylor, Bogart,  William  Hay,  George 

Allen,  and  William  Hollister.  The  last  named  is  at  present, 
conducting  the  school  efliciently.  Brief  notes  about  the  school 
from  1833-37  on  several  Sabbaths  sliow  an  attendance  ranging 
up  to  sixty-two.  The  Baptists  had  a  school  of  about  the  same 
size  ;  the  Methodists  had  one  somewhat  smaller  ;  and  the  Episco- 
palians had  one  numbering  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  scholars. 
On  Sabbath,  June  16,  1833,  the  Presbyterian  children  recited 
the  names  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament;  and  on  the  next 
Sal^bath  they  were  to  recite  those  of  the  New  Testament,  just 
as  they  have  been  recently  doing. 

M!m$t^t$  Irom  tfie  ftctu  Bern  Cf^fturcft* 

The  followhig  Presbyterian  ministers  went  out  from  New 
Bern :  Rev.  Messrs.  Lemuel  D.  Hatch,  John  Witherspoon,^ 
Monroe  Allen,  William  Neal  (or  Neil),  Thomas  Watson,  Nehe- 
miali  H.  Harding,  and  John  W.  Primrose.  Two  of  these  are 
still  living  and  preaching — Mr.  Watson,  in  Dardenne,  Mo.;  and 
Mr.  Primrose,  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Churcli  in  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C.  Dr.  Harding  ministered  for  many  years  most  ac- 
ceptably to  the  church  in  Milton,  N.  C. 


EBENEZER    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH,    NEW    BERN. 


SUNDRY  MEMORANDA.  183 

Messrs.  Robert  Hay  and  Elias  Ilawes  were  the  first  elders 
whose  names  have  reached  us.  After  them  came  John  Jones, 
Thomas  Sparrow,  Allen  Fitch,  Martin  Stevenson,  Charles 
Slover,  Richard  N.  Taylor,  Emmet  Cuthbert,  George  Allen, 
William  Hollister,  and  John  Hutchinson.  The  two  last-named 
elders  were  ordained  and  installed  on  Sabbath,  Fel)ruary  5th, 
1871.  Mr.  Hutchinson  is  now  an  elder  in  the  Wilson  Church, 
and  Messrs.  Slover,  Allen,  and  Hollister  constitute  the  present 
Session  of  tiie  New  Bern  Church.  All  the  otliers  have  passed 
to  the  ministry  above. 

The  present  deacons — the  only  ones  this  church  has  ever 
had — are  Messrs.  Claudius  E.  Foy,  George  N.  Ives,  and  Alex- 
ander Miller. 

In  1854  the  pipe-organ  was  bought  for  $900. 

For  many  years  the  New  Bern  Church  had  colored  members. 
Mrs.  Stanly,  an  emancipated  slave,  was  one  of  the  original 
members.  As  far  back  as  1832  I  have  records  of  special,  sep- 
arate services  held  for  them  by  Rev.  Mr.  Hurd  in  the  Church. 
After  the  war  we  M^ere  still,  during  the  present  pastorate,  re- 
ceiving colored  members,  and  at  times  separate  services  were 
conducted  for  them,  though  they  attended  the  regular  minis- 
trations of  the  sanctuary.  It  was  deemed  l)est  to  attempt  the 
organization  of  a  distinct  Colored  Presbyterian  Church.  So 
the  work  was  commenced  under  B.  B.  Palmer,  a  colored  Licen- 
tiate of  Orange  Presbytery,  about  May,  1878.  The  building 
in  which  this  work  was  conducted,  until  their  Churcli  was  built, 
was  that  known  as  the  Congregational  School  House,  then 
standing  on  the  corner  of  Johnson  and  Middle  Streets,  where 
now  stands  the  residence  of  Mr.  J.  F.  Ives,  The  Session  of 
the  New  Bern  Church  directed  the  operations.     On  Sabbath, 


184  COLOEED  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

November  24,  1878,  a  committee  of  Orange  Presbytery,  con- 
sisting of  Rev.  L.  C.  Yass,  and  ruling  elders  G.  Allen  and  "W". 
Hollister,  finding  the  way  clear,  organized  Ebenezer  Colored 
Presbyterian  Chnrcli,  with  eleven  members,  in  the  Congrega- 
tional School  House.  Licentiate  Palmer  retired  from  the  work 
in  February,  1879,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  following  May  by 
Rev.  A.  A.  Scott,  of  Yadkin  Presbytery,  who  has  continued 
here,  and  is  the  Pastor.  Mr.  Scott  was  born  in  South  Caro- 
lina. 

Under  the  leadership  of  Rev.  L.  C.  Yass,  through  the  gen- 
erous aid  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  and  of  many  good 
friends  in  this  city  and  in  many  other  places;  and  with  earnest 
effort  by  the  colored  congregation,  a  beautiful  Church  has  been 
erected,  at  a  cost  of  about  $1,800  for  Church  and  lot;  and  on 
November  7,  1880,  it  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Al- 
mighty God.  The  dedication  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr. 
Yass.  Additional  work  has  been  done  on  the  property,  and  it 
is  valued  at  $2,500.  The  membership  is  now  seventy-four. 
It  was  found  best  for  the  Church  to  belong  to  Yadkin  Presby- 
tery, and  it  was  therefore  dismissed  by  Orange  Presbytery  to 
Yadkin,  April  13,  1881.  Yaluable  assistance  has  been  ren- 
deretl  to  them  by  the  Northern  Presbyterian  Church.  Mr. 
Scott  has  approved  himself  to  be  an  excellent,  prudent  and 
useful  servant  for  the  Master  among  his  colored  brethren,  and 
he  commands  the  confidence  and  respect  of  our  best  white  citi- 
zens. 

The  eleven  original  members  were  John  Randolph,  Sr., 
John  Randolph,  Jr.,  Caroline  Barham,  Livinia  Willard,  George 
H.  White,  Julius  Willis,  Caesar  Lewis,  Wm.  O.  Randolph, 
Jane  Coats,  L.  Palmer  and  W.  W.  Lawrence.  Three  ruling  el- 
ders were  elected,  viz.:  John  Randolph,  Sr.,  Julius  Willis  and 
George  H.  White. 

TOm!$t^r$  front  Hanoticr  Prcsbgli^rg* 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  nearly  every  minister  who  has  la- 
bored in  New  Bern  came  here  from  Hanover,  or,  after  its  di- 
vision. West  Hanover  Presbytery,  viz.:  Messrs.  B.  H.  Rice, 


GROWTH  OF  PRESBYTERIANISM.  185 

J.  N.  Campbell,  S.  Ilurd,  M.  Osborne,  D.  Laoj,  D.  Stratton 
and  L.  C.  Yass.  Mr.  Burcli  also  came  from  the  bounds  of 
Hanover,  when  he  was  taken  under  the  charge  of  Orange  as  a. 
candidate  for  the  ministry. 

O«rotutrt  of  ]^rc$bt|tcrmtt!$m  In  Irnsfcrn 
lloHIt  (titroHtm. 

In  the  eastern  and  north-eastern  part  of  North  Carolina  cov- 
ered by  Orange  Presbytery,  there  were  before  1865  only  the 
Presbyterian  Churches  at  AVashington,  organized  in  1822,  and 
at  ]yew  Bern.  But  since  tliat  date,  earnest  work,  under  Di- 
vine blessing,  has  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  Churches  in 
Tarboro,  Rocky  Mount,  Nahalah  (near  Scotland  Neck),  Wil- 
son, Littleton,  Henderson,  La  Grange,  Croatan  (below  New 
Bern),  and  in  the  revival  of  Warrenton  Church.  Preaching  is 
also  maintained  at  other  points,  where  it  is  hoped  that  at  no 
distant  day  organizations  will  Ije  effected.  Then  Wilmington 
Presbytery,  embracing  South-Eastern  North  Carolina,  con- 
tains thirty-five  Churches.  So  if  we  add  to  tliese  the  Churches 
in  the  Cape  Fear  River  settlements,  now  in  a  part  of  Fayette- 
ville  Presbytery,  then  looking  eastward,  in  the  section  first  re- 
ferred to  as  occupied  in  colonial  days  by  those  Huguenot, 
Scotch,  German  and  Swiss  settlers,  we  may  now  count  sixty,  or 
perhaps  seventy-five,  Presbyterian  Churches.  These  embrace  a 
large  raembersliip,  that  represents  in  character,  and  extensively 
in  identical  names,  the  original  immigrants. 

There  is  in  these  Churches  a  healthy  and  encouraging  mani- 
festation of  aggressiveness  in  winning  souls  for  Jesus,  and  es- 
tablishing Churches,  modeled,  as  we  believe,  after  the  apostoli- 
cal example  and  the  whole  teaching  of  God's  Word. 


CONCLUSION. 


*01  UCH  is  the  result  of  an  earnest  effort  to  rescue  from  oblivion 
'k3  the  history  of  Presby  terianism  in  and  around  New  Bern ;  to 
gather  in  compact  and  permanent  form  interesting  and  important 
facts  about  our  city ;  to  add  to  the  general  fund  of  information 
some  things  new  to  many,  if  not  to  all ;  and  thus  to  give  some 
light  to  what  has  been  obscure,  and  perhaps  aid  some  future 
investigator  to  prepare  a  better  account. 

A  review  of  the  record  demonstrates  the  value  of  persevering 
efforts,  and  the  power  of  littles.  Most  clearly  does  this  appear 
in  the  development  of  the  Church  here,  and  in  the  successful 
use  of  the  envelope  system  of  finance  for  weak  congregations. 

Great  emphasis  is  given,  too,  to  the  inestimable  worth  of 
female  workers  in  the  Church.  Because  of  her  godly  zeal  and 
consecrated  liberality,  this  was  called  Mrs.  Minor'^s  Church. 
"  Help  those  women  which  labored  with  me  in  the  Gospel "  was 
an  inspired  exhortation.  Paul  knew  their  courageous  and  suc- 
cessful assistance  in  his  ministry.  Our  ladies'  societies,  con- 
ducted in  a  consecrated  spirit,  should  be  fostered,  and  will  re- 
ceive honor  from  God. 

In  God's  work  we  should  never  be  discouraged.  Prayer, 
faith,  hope,  toil,  and  staying  force,  these  must  be  abiding  and 
animating  principles.  Their  uplift,  outlook,  and  result,  under 
the  promises  and  guidance  of  that  Lord  who  is  round  about 
Jerusalem,  cannot  be  doubtful,  inglorious,  or  unsatisfying. 
Years  past  have  been  years  of  mingled  joy  and  sorrow.  We 
have  been  like  those  early  colonists  who  walked  through  the 
broad  aisles  of  ancient  woods.     Now  thev  travel  across  wide. 


CONCLUSION.  187 

briglit  stretches  of  enchanting  light ;  here  is  a  charming  soften- 
ing of  garisli  day  by  the  trembling  and  whispering  foliage  of 
the  majestic  Gothic  archways  above;  anon  the  checkered  jour- 
ney leads  into  enfolding  gloom  ;  and  the  mntterings  of  storms, 
■with  the  moving  of  false  fires  on  the  marshes,  and  the  fierce 
flashings  on  the  darkening  clouds  above,  kindle  honest  appre- 
hensions, call  for  quickened  exertions,  and  wise  preparations. 
Their  courage  grew.  The  "  eminent  domain ''  around  them 
prophesied  a  shining,  unfolding  future,  whose  happy  dawn  they 
welcomed,  and  whose  splendid  day  benignantly  beams  upon 
their  children.  So  with  God's  people  in  their  checkered  spir- 
itual life  and  history,  their  shifting  hopes  and  fears,  their 
speechless  griefs  or  sparkling  songs.  Always  there  is  light 
enough  to  show  that  the  great  Eternal  Sun  is  shining  above. 
Before  them  is  their  radiant  home.  Home,  sweet  home!  No 
Idalian  bowers  with  thorny  blooms;  no  dulcet  chimes  lulling 
elevating  sensibilities  into  destructive  inaction;  no  gleaming 
glories  of  a  hasty  summer  solstice,  to  be  quickly  and  forever 
blasted  under  the  icy  grasp  of  wintry  disappointment!  The 
faithful  servant  has  a  sure  reward.  Amid  all  the  shifting 
scenes  of  a  varying  earthly  career,  in  sunshine  or  shadow,  storm 
or  calm,  apparently  miserable  failure  or  Elysian  triumph,  with 
head  erect,  heart  firm,  and  girded  loins,  nuist  be  heeded  the 
voice,  "  this  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it ;"  and  each  true  Knight  of 
the  Cross  must  chivalrously  "press  toward  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  Thus  only 
■can  be  reached 

The  Canaan  fair,  where  flowers  are 
That  ever  bloom,  and  shed  perfume 

Fit  for  heaven, 
A  land  of  bliss,  unlike  to  this — 
For  God  is  there,  where  saints  repair 

To  worship  Him. 

Blest  Church  on  earth  !     Glad  place  of  birth 
For  souls  from  death  by  holy  breath 
Of  God  himself. 


188  .    co^fCLusION". 

His  constant  love  her  guard  shall  prove, 
And  free  his  saints  from  all  complaints 
Through  Christ  his  Son. 

Then  rest  above  prepared  by  love, 
With  harpings  sweet,  and  glories  meet 

For  pardoned  men, 
Shall  opened  be  for  Zion  free — 

The  holy  Bride ; 
And  we  shall  see  our  all  in  thee — 

Christ  Ckxjcified. 


ADDENDA. 


MUCH  uncertainty  shrouds  the  history  of  North  Carolina 
before  1700,  because  of  the  lack  of  nearly  all  early 
original  records  among  the  State  archives.  George  Chalmers, 
the  historian,  made  the  first  search  for  this  information  in  Lon- 
don in  1780.  Notable  private  efforts  have  been  made  since  to 
repair  this  loss.  Appreciating  this  incompleteness,  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly  of  North  Carolina,  in  1827,  began  efforts  to  re- 
cover from  the  British  Government  copies  of  all  documents 
relating  to  the  State's  Colonial  history.  Many  obstacles  hin- 
dered the  satisfactory  accomplishment  of  this  important  enter- 
prise, often  renewed  and  still  continued.  For  the  past  seven 
years  our  accomplished  Secretary  of  State,  Col.  W.  L.  Saun- 
ders, has  devoted  his  energies  and  archaeological  tastes  to  com- 
piling the  results  of  previous  labors  in  this  department,  and  of 
.his  own  researches  abroad  and  at  home,  under  legislative  en- 
actment. Two  volumes  of  these  documentary  records,  referred 
to  on  page  26,  with  valuable  prefaces,  will  soon  be  pub- 
lished. Many  changes  will  have  to  be  made  in  writing  the 
early  history  of  the  State.  I  have  also  obtained  a  copy  of  a 
most  valuable  and  exceedingly  rare  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Party 
Tyranny;  or.  An  Occasional  Bill  in  Miniature,  as  now  Prac- 
tised in  Carolina.  De  Foe.  London :  Printed  in  the  year 
1705."  Not  having  had  access  to  a  part  of  tliese  documents 
until  after  the  preceding  pages  were  nearly  all  printed,  some 
additional  notes  are  necessary  here,  and  a  few  errors  need  cor- 
rection. 

Pao;e  11.  Dnrant  '■'■  stands  the  oldest  landholder''^  of  whose 
grant  documentary  evidence  exists.  The  records  of  Percjui- 
mans  County  contain  the  deed,  bearing  date  1st  March,  16G2. 


190  ADDENDA. 

In  this  instrument  tlie  King  of  Yeopira,  Kilcacenen  (or  Kisto- 
tanen),  "had  for  a  valeiable  consideration  of  satisfaction  re- 
ceived with  the  consent  of  my  people  sold  and  made  over  to 
George  Durant  a  Parcel  of  land,"  bearing  the  name  "Weco- 
comicke,"  and  adjoining  "  the  land  I  formily  sold  to  Saml 
Pricklove."  Various  documents,  legislation  of  later  date,  and 
the  iirst  Charter  of  Charles  II.,  show  that  earlier  settlers  had 
been  holding  lands  under  Virginia  grants,  or  titles  by  purchase 
from  the  Indians.  So  Albemarle  contained  enough  inhabitants 
to  warrant  the  inauguration  of  a  governor  and  legislature  in 
1664  or  1665.  (Col.  Eec.  I.,  pp.  ix.  and  19;  Carroll's  Collec- 
tions, Vol.  II.,  283.) 

Page  12.  "  Very  soon  the  Cape  Fear  settlements  were  securely 
established^  This  refers  to  the  early  prosperity  of  the  col- 
ony of  800  under  Yeamans.  It  finally  failed,  according  to  old 
historians,  in  1690;  but  later  documents  seem  to  fix  its  aban- 
donment in  the  latter  half  of  1667.  Still  I  am  not  certain, 
from  the  records,  that  there  were  not  some  settlers  on  the  Cape 
Fear  several  years  later,  wliile  Governor  Yeamans  was  on  tlie 
Ashley  River.  Unwise  Proprietary  restrictions  arrested  the 
successful  development  of  the  Cape  Fear  section  until  1724, 
after  which  date  emigration  flowed  freely  westward.  (Martin, 
I.,  143,  294;  Hawks,  II.,  81,  453  ;  Col.  Kec.  I.,  x.  36,  75,159, 
&c.,  209,  etc.;  Vol.  II.,  528-'9;  Williamson,  I.,  96,  118.) 

Page  15.  ^^  Sale  to  the  Crown  in  1729."  According  to  Mar- 
tin's Digest,  the  General  Assembly  at  Edenton  passed  laws  in 
the  name  of  "  His  Excellency  the  Palatine,  and  the  rest  of  the 
true  and  absolute  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina,"  27tli  No- 
vember, 1729.  The  surrender  of  the  Proprietors  by  bargain 
and  sale  to  the  Crown  is  thought  to  have  taken  place  in  De- 
cember, 1728.  Eventually,  however,  an  Act  of  Parliament 
was  found  necessary  to  establish  the  agreement;  and  one  was 
passed,  in  the  second  year  of  George  II.,  appointing  29th  Sep- 
tember, 1729,  as  the  time  for  the  transfer.  (Revised  Statutes 
of  N.  C,  Vol.  II.)  But  no  change  in  the  style  of  enacting  laws 
was  ordered  until  1730;  and  the  first  royal  governor  did  not 


ADDENDA.  191 

assume  bis  functions  until  February,  1731.  More  data  are  re- 
quired to  iix  tbe  precise  date  wben  tbe  Proprietary  rigbts 
ceased.     (Cob  Rec.  II.,  Preface,  721,  769.) 

Tbe  usual  estimate  of  tbe  population  of  Nortb  Carolina  in 
1729  is  probably  too  low,  according  to  contemporary  state- 
ments.    It  is  tbougbt  to  bave  been  30,000. 

Pages  18,  25-28.  "  Gov.  Johnston.''''  Sir  Natbanael  Jobnson 
("t"  generally  omitted)  was  made  Governor  of  Soutb  Caro- 
lina in  1703,  and  bad  power  to  appoint  bis  Deputy-Governor 
for  Nortb  Carolina.  Tbe  pamphlet,  "  Pai'ty  Tyranny,"  already 
referred  to,  is  tbe  elaborate  petition  presented  to  tbe  Parlia- 
ment of  England  by  Josepb  Boone,  or  Boon,  wbo  bad  been 
sent  over  from  Soutb  Carolina  to  secure  redress  of  grievances. 
He  stood  in  place  of  Jobn  Asbe,  wbo  bad  been  commissioned 
for  tbe  work  in  1703,  and  bad  been  accompanied  by  Edmund 
Porter  on  bebalf  of  Nortb  Carolina:  but  Asbe  died  in  Eng- 
land. Among  otber  wrongs  complained  of  were  an  act  passed 
in  Soutb  Carolina — an  unparalleled,  barbarous,  impudent,  tyran- 
nical law — by  cbicaner}'  and  surprise,  and  a  majority  of 
only  one  in  tbe  Commons,  wbereby  all  dissenters  wbo  would 
not  take  communion  after  tbe  rites  of  tbe  Cburcli  of  England 
and  subscribe  tbe  appointed  oatb,  were  excluded  from  tbe 
Commons  House  of  tbe  Assembly.  Also  anotber  act  was 
complained  of  tbat  establisbed  tbe  Cburcb  of  England,  laid 
out  tbe  parishes  and  appointed  vestries  and  cburcb  taxes,  and 
a  Iligli  Connnission  Court  of  twenty  laymen  to  try  and  to  turn 
out  clergymen  from  their  charges,  under  certain  circumstances. 
Boone  handles  Lord  Granville  and  bis  supporting  Lords  Pro- 
prietors without  mercy  before  the  Parliament.  He  says  that 
tbe  Palatine,  whose  "mock  title  is  none  of  bis  due,"  is  but  a 
mountebank  prince,  an  insolent  tyrant,  with  an  imperious  and 
arbitrary  manner — sic  volo,  sic  jubeo  ! 

The  appeal  was  triumphantly  sustained,  and  eventually  tbe 
Proprietors  were  declared  to  bave  forfeited  their  charter. 

I  have  not  found  any  evidence  tbat  Gov.  Daniel  succeeded 
in  obeying  bis  instructions  so  far  as  to  secure  the  passage  in 


192  ADDENDA. 

North  Carolina  of  the  "  Sacramental  Test  Act."  No  text  of  a 
vestry  act  exists  earlier  than  1715,  and  that  is  less  rigid  than 
the  South  Carolina  act  of  1701.  So  far  tlie  statement  on  page 
25,  viz.,  that  Daniel  secured  the  passage  of  a  similar  law  by 
the  Albemarle  Legislature,  should  be  modified.  He  could  not 
fetter  these  stalwart  freemen  that  much.  So  he  only  got  the 
church  established  with  legal  vestry  and  tax  appendages.  By 
the  testimony  of  President  Henderson  Walker,  such  bills  and 
provisions  as  these  were  hard  to  obtain.  (Life  of  Caldwell,  p.  63 ; 
Simms'  Hist.  S.  C,  p.  78  ;  Party  Tyranny ;  Col.  Kec.  I.,  xxv. 
634-610,  613,  572,  598,  690,  &c.,  709,713,  769,  876;  Vol. 
IL,  127,  207,  582,  601,  621;  Martin's  Digest,  p.  99,  Tax- 
ation for  New  Hanover  Parish  in  1731;  Archdaleand  Hewitt's 
accounts  in  Carroll's  Col.) 

All  meetings  of  Dissenters  must  be  public  and  suhjeci  to 
<;ertain  rules.  (Col.  Pec.  II. ,  881;  Williamson,  L,  168;  Mar- 
tin, L,  229  ;  Caldwell's  Life,  63.) 

Pages  18-2L  Quakers.  The  dates  of  the  quarterly  meet- 
tings  are  given  on  the  authority  of  the  learned  Friends,  Edwin 
Blackburn,  of  Baltimore,  and  W.  J.  Hall,  of  Swarthmore  Col- 
lege, Pa. 

Dr.  Caruthers  states  in  his  Life  of  Caldwell  (p.  83),  that  an 
intelligent  Quaker  informed  him  that  their  first  yearly  meet- 
ing was  held  in  Perquimans  County  in  1701.  (Williamson,  I., 
81,  92.)  Quakers  were  not  allowed  to  testify  in  criminal  cases, 
to  sit  on  a  jury,  or  to  hold  any  government  office  of  trust  or 
profit.     (Col.  Rec.  IL,  885.) 

Pages  23  and  50.  Craven  County  here  will  of  course  be  un- 
derstood to  be  Craven  in  South  Carolina,  and  not  Craven  Pre- 
cinct, elsewhere  spoken  of  in  Bath  County,  North  Carolina. 

Page  29,  at  the  bottom,  read  ministers  for  '■'■  minisster .'''' 

Marriages.  For  "1769  or  1770,"  read  1766.  In  1711,  at 
Edenton,  Gabriel  Johnston  being  Governor,  an  act  was  passed, 
providing  that  those  marriages  only  were  lawful  which  were 
celebrated  by  a  clergyman  of  the   Church  of  England,  or  for 


ADDENDA.  193 

want  of  such,  by  a  lawful  magistrate.  Troubles  had  arisen 
from  disregard  of  this  disabling  law;  so  in  1766  the  General 
Assembly  at  New  Bern  amended  the  marriage  act,  and  provided 
that  "all  marriages  that  have  been,  or  shall  be  solemnized,  be- 
fore the  first  day  of  January  next,  by  any  of  the  Dissenting  or 
Presbyterian  clergy,  in  their  accustomed  manner,  shall  be,  and 
are  hereby  declared  to  be  valid,  legal  and  effectual,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes,  as  if  performed  by  any  minister  of  tlie 
Church  of  England,  under  a  license  taken  and  granted  accord- 
ing to  the  directions  of  the  aforesaid  act." 

"And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
from  and  after  the  first  day  of  January  next,  that  it  shall  and 
may  be  lawful  for  any  Presbyterian  minister,  reguhirly  called 
to  any  congregation  in  this  province,  to  celebrate  the  rites  of 
matrimony  l^etween  persons,  and  join  them  together  as  man  and 
wife,  in  their  usual  and  accustomed  manner,  under  the  same 
regulations  and  restrictions  as  any  lawful  magistrate  in  this 
province  might  celebrate  and  solemnize  the  same." 
Among  the  provisos  occurs  this  significant  one : 
^^ Provided  always,  that  the  7ninister  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land serving  the  cure  of  any  jJarish  shall  have  the  benefit  of 
the  FEEy^/*  ALL  marriages  in  said  parish,  if  he  do  not  re- 
fuse to  do  the  service  therecf,  although  any  other  person  per- 
formed TOE  marriage  ceremony." 

In  a  later  act  for  establishing  an  orthodox  clergy,  the  Epis- 
copal viinister  was  authorized  to  demand  the  fee  for  ii  funeral 
service  performed  by  a  Dissenting  viinister  in  his  parish  !  i.  e., 
forty  shillings. 

In  the  vestry  act  of  1764,  every  person  twenty-one  years 
old,  and  possessing  a  specified  estate,  was  required  to  vote  for 
vestrymen  under  a  penalty  of  twenty  shillings.  (Martin's  ife 
Davis's  Digests,  etc.) 

These  few  extracts  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  spirit  of 
ante-revolutionary  ecclesiastical  legislation. 

Page  35,  last  line,  '•'■before  and  soon  after  1700."  Tliis  is 
correct  about  Carolina,  which  meant  in  the  early  records  South 


1 94  ADDENDA. 

Carolina.  Presbyterians  had  an  organized  church  in  Charles- 
ton in  1681-'2.  But  for  Eastern  North  Carolina  this  clause 
should  read  '' soofi  after  1729."  In  1732  William  Gray  had 
entered  land  near  Heart's  Creek  (Fayetteville) ;  and  Foote  say& 
there  were  enterprising  Scotch  families  there  before  him.  Re- 
cords held  by  descendants  of  Alexander  Clark,  Cumberland 
County,  show  that  he  came  over  and  settled  on  the  Cape  Fear 
in  1736;  that  a  "ship-load"  of  emigrants  came  with  him,  the 
passage  of  many  of  whom  he  paid ;  and  that  he  found  "  a  good 
many"  Scotch  settlers  had  preceded  him,  among  whom  were 
"Bluff"  Hector  McNeill,  and  John  Smith  with  his  two  child- 
ren, Malcolm  and  Janet.  When,  in  1739,  Whitefield  preached 
in  Newton  (founded  about  1730  as  New  Liverpool,  and  now 
known  as  Wilmington),  he  observed  many  Scotch  settlers  in 
the  congregation,  and  specially  exhorted  them  to  lead  an  ex- 
emplary life  in  their  new  homes.  (Webster's  Hist,  of  Pres. 
Church,  I.,  145;  Billingsly's  Life  of  Whitefield,  p.  133;  Cald- 
well's Life,  p.  85;  Foote,  p.  125;  and  Bank's  Address,  p.  6; 
Scotch  and  L-ish  Seeds,  pp.  268,  276.) 

Col.  W.  L.  Saunders  says  that  Dugald  McNeill  and  Col. 
McAlister  came  in  1739  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  Scotch. 
In  1740  these  Scotch  settlers  petitioned  the  Legislature  for  aid. 
On  28th  February,  1740,  the  Legislature  appointed  Duncan 
Campbell,  Dugald  McNeil,  Dan  McNeil,  Coll  McAlister,  and 
Neil  McNeil,  magistrates  for  Bladen  County.  They  alVdoubt- 
less  arrived  on  the  Cape  Fear. 

A  collection  of  manuscript  communications,  received  by  the 
Raleigh  Star  in  1810  from  intelligent  men  over  the  State,  arid 
deposited  in  the  University  library  at  Chapel  Plill,  prove  that 
most  of  the  settlers,  in  1736,  on  McCulloh's  lands  in  Duplin 
County,  were  Presbyterians.     (Caldwell's  Life,  pp.  86,  94.) 

These  specifications  appear  sufticient  to  sustain  the  text. 

Page  43.  Rev.  Samuel  Stanford.  I  have  recently  obtained 
an  old  file  of  "  The  North  Carolina  Sentinel.,  New  Bern,  N. 
C,"  from  April,  1831,  to  April,  1834.     The  date,  1828,  given 


ADDENDA.  195 

for  Mr.  Stanford's  deatli,  proves  incorrect  from  the  following 
notice  in  the  Sentinel-,  Friday,  21st  June,  1833: 


«  Died, 
"At  his  residence  in  the  County  of  Duplin,  in  the  71st  year  of 
his  age,  the  Rev.  SAMUEL  STANFORD,  late  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  the  Grove.  Mr.  Stanford,  in  early 
life,  was  actively  engaged  in  the  service  of  his  countr3^  He 
was  a  Kev^olutionary  soldier,  and  appeared  in  action  at  Eutaw 
Springs.  ISot  long  after  the  close  of  the  war,  he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  in  the  exercise  of  which  he 
continued  for  forty  years." 


Page  53.  The  fact  that  the  letters-patent,  by  which  Queen 
Anne  conferred  on  De  Graffenried  and  his  male  heirs  the  right 
and  title  of  a  Baron  of  Great  Britain,  together  with  his  in- 
signia and  many  of  his  letters,  are  held  by  John  De  Graffen- 
ried, a  lineal  descendant,  living  in  Dougherty  County,  Ga.,  is 
stated  by  S.  F.  Miller  in  his  sketch  of  Judge  C.  B.  Strono-,  in 
his  "Bench  and  Bar  of  Georgia,"  Yol.  II.,  278,  293.  It  came 
out  in  the  legal  investigation  of  the  rights  of  his  American 
heirs  to  the  large  property  tlieir  ancestor  left  in  Switzerland. 

The  Queen's  agency  in  making  him  a  "Landgrave  of  Caro- 
lina" was  only  indirect.  That  title  was  bestowed  under  their 
Charter  by  the  Lords  Proprietors  on  certain  conditions,  which 
were  met  by  De  (traffenried. 

Page  55.  "  The  Palatines.'*'^  The  following  are  some  docu- 
mentary references  to  the  "poore  pallitines,"  De  Graffenried 
and  the  Indian  Massacre,  in  the  "  Colonial  Records,"  Yol.  I., 
707,  717-737,  756,  775,  784,  791,  808,  810,  815,  825-834,  850, 
890,  905,  986;  Vol.  II.,  147. 

Page  59,  second  line,  read  "whole"  for  "wole." 


196  ADDENDA. 

The  coarseness  of  their  bread,  from  lack  of  mills  to  furnish 
good  flour,  and  the  abundance  of  hogs,  from  the  plenty  of  corn 
and  lack  of  transportation,  gave  rise  to  the  expressive  phrase 
"hog  and  hominy,"  descriptive  of  coarse  but  substantial  living. 

Page  71,  bottom,  '-'-TaxdbleP  The  law  in  1715  reads, 
"And  It  Is  Hereby  Enacted  that  all  males  not  being  slaves  in 
this  Government  shall  be  Tythable  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years 
and  all  slaves  male  or  Female  either  Imported  or  born  in  the 
County  shall  be  Tythable  at  the  age  of  twelve  years."  (Col. 
Eec.  II.,  889.) 

Page  78.  Episcopal  Clergy.  It  is  possible  that  Messrs. 
Earle  and  Burgess  also  remained  in  the  State;  though  Burgess 
may  have  gone  to  Southampton,  Va.  Micklejohn  was  a  Tory. 
So  an  intelligent  Episcopal  friend,  who  has  kindly  examined 
my  summary,  writes  me.     (See  also  CaldwelFs  Life,  181.) 

Page  139.  Chapel  Hill.  Early  in  this  century  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  probably  had  some  sort  of  organization,  under 
Drs.  Caldwell  and  Chapman,  at  this  place  ;  but  the  minutes 
are  lost. 

Page  164.  Fourth  line  from  the  bottom,  read  "1855"  in- 
stead of  "1825." 


AMUSEMENTS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE 

By  Rev.  L.  C.  VASS,  A.  M.,  New  Bern,  N.  C. 

Presbyterian  Board  of  Publicalion,  rhihuklphia,  I'a. 
Price,  50  Cents. 


The  aim  of  ihis  hook  is  lo  illuslrate  great  principles  liy  tlie  liglu  of  early  his- 
tory for  practical  effect.  Part  First  discusses  the  relations  of  Christians  of  the 
first  three  centuries  to  popular  amusements  in  their  day.  Part  Second  presents 
the  i)rinciples  which  must  decide  what  are  not  lawful  Christian  amusements? 


R  E  €  E  X  T    C  K  I  T  I  C  I  .S  M  S. 

PrincipalJ.  Cairns,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Edingburgh,  Scotlaud:  "It  displays  more  than  or- 
<linary  research  in  regard  to  the  relation  of  the  primitive  Christians  to  the  amusements  of 
their  age,  and  pleads  earnestly  and  successfully  for  the  cultivation  of  the  same  unworldly 
spirit  in  our  own  times.  The  clearness  and  grace  Of  the  style,  and  the  general  soundness 
and  solidity  of  the  matter,  recommend  this  little  work  to  wide  consideration," 

lieo.  A.  II'.  Miller,  D.  D.,  Charlotte,  N.  C. :  "It  is  excellent  and  timely." 

Rev.  Joseph  II.  ]yiUon,  D.  D.,  Prof.  S.  W.  Presbyterian  University  :  "  No  one  who  begins 

its  perusal  will  lay  it  down  until  he  has  finished  it  to  the  last  word The  author's 

treatment  of  his  difficult  and  worn  stibject  is  as  notably  original  as  his  turns  of  expression 
are  takingly  fresh,  carrying  the  reader  along  whether  or  no.  This  little  work  presents  the 
whole  discussion  in  a  manner  not  more  fair  than  convincing — so  convincing,  indeed,  be- 
cause 80  fair." 

Rev.  J.  Rumple,  D.  D.,  Salisbury,  X.  C. :  "Mr.  Vass  deserves  great  credit  for  getting  ui) 
and  arranging  this  material  in  such  a  faithful  and  interesting  manner.  I  heartily  com- 
mend it." 

Rev.  J.  M.  Atkinson,  D.  D.,  Raleigh,  N.  C. :  "  It  is  creditable  to  the  writer,  to  his  Church, 
and  to  the  State.    It  is  remarkably  comiirehensive  and  thorough." 

Rev.  IT.  G.  Hill.  D,  D.,  Fayetteville,  N.  C. :  "In  statement  it  is  clear,  in  arrangement 
happy,  in  argument  convincing,  in  style  iiolished,  and  in  its  influence  upon  religion  aud 
morals  tends  toward  purity  aud  progress." 


AMUSEMENTS  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  UFE— Con finued. 

Rev.  Jno.  X.  Waddell,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Chancellor  of  the  South  Western  Presbyterian  Uni- 
versity, Clarksville,  Tenn. :  "  The  author  has  adopted  a  novel  method  of  treating  this  hack- 
neyed subject.  The  judicious  and  appropriate  selections  of  illustrations  of  the  opinions 
and  practices  of  the  Primitive  Church,  which  is  found  in  this  historical  sketch,  cannot  be 
too  highly  commended.  The  style  also  in  which  the  book  is  written  is  clear  and  attractive, 
and  the  entire  volume  is  one  that  wiU  repay  a  diligent  perusal." 

Rev.  R.  L.  Dabney,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Professor  in  the  University  of  Texas  :  "The  picture  of 
the  Primitive  Christian  life  is  very  engaging  and  just.  I  wish  we  had  such  a  standard  of 
morals  among  our  church-members  now." 


FROM    JOlIRNAIiS. 

Christian  Adooeatc  (Methodist),  Kaleigh,  N.  C.  :  "We  need  just  such  literature  in  the 
hands  of  old  and  young.  .  .  .  We  commend  most  earnestly  this  valuable  little  book  to  our 
readers.    It  is  undenominational  and  practical." 

Biblical  iJecorder  (Baptist),  Raleigh,  N.  C.  :  "We  heartily  endorse  the  book,  and  com- 
mend it  to  our  readers.  There  never  was  a  time  when  a  book  of  this  kind  was  more 
needed." 

Morning  Star,  Wilmington,  N.  C.  :  "This  is  a  thoughtful,  scholarly  essay  upon  a  very 
important  subject." 

Cumberland  Presbyterian,  Nashville,  Tenn.  :  "The  little  book  ^vill  no  doubt  aid  many  a 
pastor  in  dealing  with  this  perplexing  and  ever  recurring  problem." 

Christian  Observer,  Louisville,  Ky. :  "  It  is  both  interesting  and  forcible." 

Central  Presbyterian,  Va. :  "We  earnestly  commend  the  work  to  all  Christians,  and 
should  like  to  see  it  in  every  Christian  family." 

Philadelphia  Presbyterian:  "A  discussion  of  a  question  of  vital  interest  to  every  sin- 
cere Christian." 

Xorth  Carolina  Presbyterian :  "The  appeal  is  indeed  tenderly  and  logically  presented  to 
every  one's  sense  of  right." 

South  Western  Presbyterian,  New  Orleans,  La.  :  "A  calm,  serious,  carefully  prepared  and 
well  considered  discussion  of  an  interesting  topic." 

Earnest  Worker;  Richmond,  Va.  :  "The  subject  very  ably  and  clearly  discussed 

We  are  sure  this  book  will  be  welcomed,  and  we  triist  it  may  have  a  wide  circulation  among 
our  peojile." 

The  Signal  Magazine,  Edinburgh,  Scotland  :  "Very  valuable  little  treatise." 

Presbyterian  Review,  N.  Y.:  "This  little  volume  gives  first  an  animated  and  trustworthy 
account  of  popular  amusements  in  the  primitive  period,  and  the  attitude  of  the  Church  to- 
wards them,  and  then  discusses  the  amusements  of  our  own  day,  and  the  princix)les  upon 
which  they  should  be  either  accepted  or  rejected.  The  tone  of  the  book  is  elevated  and  spirit- 
ual, and  the  author  has  done  a  good  work  in  presenting  the  truth  clearly,  yet  without  bit- 
terness or  extravagance." 


Price,  50  cents,  post  paid,  by  the  Presbyterian  Committee  of 
Publication,  Richmond,  Va.,  or  by 

Rev.  L.  C.  Vass,  A.  M.,  New  Bern,  N.  C 


u 


LAST[RN 


J, 


AfiOLIi 


M 


By  Eev.  L.  C.  VASS,  1).  I)., 
NEW  IIEUX,  X.  (\ 


PRICE   -"^l.oO, — P(>8TA(rI<:  IT)  CKNTS. 


This  hjiiidsoine  octavo,  with  thirtoon  ('noiavings,  "Eastern 
North  Carolina.,  New  Born  Presbyterian  Cliurcli,  and  New 
Bern,"  contains  a  Besunie  of  Early  ICcclesiastical  Artairs  in 
Eastern  North  Carolina,  a  Sketch  of  the  Early  J)ays  of  New 
Bern,  N.  C.,  and  the  History  of  the  New  Bern  Presbyterian 
Clmrch.  by  K'ev.  L.  C.  Vass,  D.  D. 


TliE  G-EiiEral  Verdict 


Prof.  PHILIP  SCHAFF,  D.  D.,  LL.  I).: 
"  It  rests  on  orijrinal  research  of  the  sources,  and  is  an  important  contribution 
to  the  history  of  American  Presbj-terianism,  especially  in  North  Carolina." 

Prksii>ent  JAMES  McCOSH,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.  : 
"  It  is  a  most  valuable  contribution.    *    *    *    The   book  is  well   written,  and 
throws  lijjht  on  the  history,  reliarious  and  political,  of  an  important  district  of  our 
country.    I  have  sent  the  work  to  our  collcfje  library,  that  f)ur  students  may  have 
access  to  it." 

Kkv.  a.  W.  >riL[-Kl{,  I).  1).,  (HAKi.oTTK,  N.  C..■ 
"Ihave  read  it  with  interest  and  no  les.s  admiration;  regarding  it  as  the  best 
book  on  Eastern  North  Carolina  I  have  ever  seen ;  truly  a  valuable  work,— a 
credit  to  our  Stale,  to  our  Church,  to  the  author,  and  to  the  publisher.  It  deserves 
a  wide  circulation,  and  particularly  a  place  in  every  Presbyterian  family  in  the 
land." 

I'lMN.  Il"Al,  .roHN  (  AIRN"^,  I).  1)..  1,1,.  I)..  El.lNlil  Kcri,  S(<iTI,ANI>: 
"  I  can  quite  honestly  praise  your  volume  as  casting  a  bright  and  to  me  new 
light  upon  your  colonial  hi.stoiy,  especially  on  its  ecclesiastical  side.  Not  the 
least  interesting  part  is  the  story  of  the  Huguenot,  Swiss,  Palatinate,  and  other 
foreign  elements  of  your  composite  nation  and  Church,  of  which  I  knew,  in 
relation  to  North  Carolina,  almo.st  nothing,  but  which  you  have  made  so  vivid. 
*****  I  congratulate  you  on  having  made  n  real  addition  to  Christian 
biography." 

Ki;\.  \.  sPKtNT,  IIi:m.i;ks()n,  N.  (.•.. 
"The   store   of  infornnition   it  contains  is    vei-j-  gieat,  and   will  be  ))rized  as 
valuable  histoty,  very  much  of  which  (cannot  bi-  gotten  otherwi.se." 


Hon.  J.  I).  CAMKRON,  A.sukvilli:,  N.  C. . 
"  I  liave  read  it  with  much  pleasure  and  protit.    Its  contriliuliou  tf)  the  liistory 
of  the  State  relating  to  Eastern  North  Carolina  is  very  valuable  and  intcrestins', 
especially  as  relates  to  Ecclesiastical  atl'airs." 

Ui:\  .  J.  lU'MPLE,  I).  1).,  SALrsuiJiiv,  N.  C: 
"  A  noble  work.    *    *    *    Tlie  autlior  goes  to  the  beginning.    *    *    *     But  Mr. 
Vass's  version  is  a  new  one,  and  is  interspersed  witli  spicy  anecdotes  and  inci- 
dents that  enchain  the  attention,  while  conveying  instruction." 

Kev.  J.  HEXRY  SMITH,  I).  D.,  GiiKENsnouo,  N.  C.  ; 
'■  The  book  has  interested,  absorbed  me,  tascinated  me  from  beginning  to  end. 
*  *  *  The  Church  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  Bro.  Vass  for  the  labor  he  lias 
bestowed  in  gathering  and  recording  so  much  that  would  otherwise  have  been 
lost.  *  *  *  The  matter,  and  style  of  the  book,  and  its  paper  and  general 
'get-up',  arc  attractive." 

GO\-.  A.  M.  SCALES,  llALEKiH,  N.  C. : 
"  Tlie  work  does  credit  to  your  head  and  heart,  and  I  trust  that  others  of  our 
ministers  will  follow  your  worthy  example." 

.TrixiE  .T.  II.  HUTCIIINS,  ArsTiN,  Texas: 
"You  have  admirably  jierforniel  what  you  undertook  to  do.    *    *    *    I  think 
all  denominations  of  Cliristians    in    Ea.stern   North   Carolina    will   feel   greatly 
indebted  to  you.    *    *    *    A  gem  of  exquisite  value." 

ItEV.  F.  n.  JOHNSTON,  I).  1).,  Winston-,  N.  C.  : 
'•  Your  book  will  live.    ^Vo^k  well  done  thcougiiout.    *    *    *    All  Narth  Carolina 
owes  yon  thanks." 

IfEV.  .T.  I).  IIIFHAM,  D.D.,  SCOTLAXM  Neck,  N.  C.  : 
"You  have  given  a  charming  freshness  and  a  thrilling  interest  to  >'our  narra- 
tive.   You  have  given  the  clearest  and  most  faithful  sket-di  of  early  ecclesiastical 
legislation  in  North  Carolina  and  of  the  character  ot  de  GratTcnried,  that  I  have 
vet  found." 


TiiE  Press 


DAILY  .loCRNAL,  NEW  Berx,  N.  C.  : 
*    *    *    "Mr.  Vass  has  succeeded  remarkably  well  in  bringing  to  light  interest- 
ing facta,  that  would  have  been  lost  to  future  generations.    *    *    *. 

NEW  YORK  HERALD: 

"The  author  gives  graphic  sketches  of  the  chief  actors  in  the  settlement  of 
Eastern  North  Carolina,  the  early  d:iys  of  the  colony,  the  foundations  of  its  insti- 
tutions, and  the  histoi'ic  development  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  *  *  *  His 
careful  researches  will  be  valued  by  all  stud.,>nts  of  American  politio.-i  and 
history."    *    *    * 

"His  book  is  enriched  by  illustrations,  original  letters  and  documents  of  the 
olden  time,  and  much  other  exact  historical  d  ita  which  will  make  it  of  pemia- 
nent  value." 

MAGAZINE  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY,  NEW  York: 
"  The  book  displays  a  large  amount  of  careful  research,  and  its  tone  is  elevated, 
graceful,  and  highly  instructive.    The  author  lias  rescued  from  oblivion  much 
important  data,   and    placed    it    in  comi^act    and   permanent  foi'm   for  future 
reference." 


PRESBYTKHIAN  QUARTEULY,  ATLANTA,  GA.  : 

"  A  Ix'iHitil'iil  octavo,  well  printed  ami  illustriited,  and  written  in  most  aproeablo 
style.  *  *  *  Tli(>  work  nowhere  in»iir(^sHes  the  roivder  as  a  task  pei'formod,  but 
as  a  privilejri"  enthusiastieally  nndertaki-n  and  liappily  aeeomplished.  *  *  ''■  It 
will  he  appreciated  *  *  hy  all  who  llnd  jdeasure  in  studying  the  development  of 
cluirch  life  in  partienlar  localities,  whert>  the  inlUience  of  the  trntli  can  be  traced 
as  it  were  alon<jr  individnal  lines." 

CnAlU.KSTON,  S.  ('.,  NKWS  AND  ('<  )IK1  KK  :    Kiev.  C.  .S.  VEDDER,  D.  D.^ 
"The  antlior  has  iierfornu'd  his  work  well,  and  it  is  a  work  worth  trood  per- 
formance.   *    *    =5    Mnch  new  material  abont  old  atlairs  in  North  Carolina.     *     * 
lUnstrations  many  and  .admirable.     '■    *    The  thenn!  is  int(>rcs1inu',  the  author 
able,  and  the  printers  hav((  (hmc  their  part  of  the  work  to  perfection." 

LITKUAKY  CHAT,  \.  Y. 
•■  .\  remarkable  production,  a.s  there  is  no  volume  on  the  subji-ct  that  can  com- 
pare witli  it.    *    *    The  store  of  information  it  contains  will  be  prized.      *      *      * 
Typoarraphically  it  is  a  marvtd  of  beauty." 

THE  STATE  CHRONICLE,  RALiaciI,  N.  C. . 
"A  thorou.ich  North  Carcdina  book,  and  apiece  of  Sonthern  workmanship  in 
authorship,  subject,  jiress  work  an<l  bindinjr.  *  *  Mr.  Vassffives  new  historical 
documents  never  before  published.  *  *  In  this  book,  bi'tterthan  any  other 
soui'ce  known  to  us,  is  an  account  of  the  E.stablished  Church  in  the  colonies.  *  * 
TlK'book  will  1)'.'  interestinj?to  all  North  Carolinians." 

NORTH  CAROLINA  TEACHER: 

"  One  of  the  most  readable  and  \alaable  contributions  to  our  historical  litera- 
ture. *  *  Much  material  that  has  never  before  l)een  printed.  *  *  Every  North 
Carolinian  ouRht  to  poss;-ss  this  admirable  book,  and  icsricciALLV  .siioiM)  it  mv: 
IN  Kvi:i:v  piiii.n:  and  sriiooL  uurarv." 

RALEIGH,  N.  C,  NEWS  AND  OBSERVER  : 

"AVithont  doubt  the  best  and  most  complete  statement  of  the  hi.storic  facts  in 
early  Carolina  history,  of  which  it  treats,  that  can  now  be  had." 

BIBLICAL  RECORDER,  (Bapti.stl: 
"A   book   of  rare  res;>areh   and  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  histoi->- of  the 
State.    *    *    It  should  find  a  large  sale  and  be  generally  read,  not  only  by  the 
Presbyterians  of  North  Carolina,  but  by  the  Baptists  as  well." 

RALEIGH  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE: 
"  Much  in  it  entirely  new,  and  frathered  from  sources  hidden  and  rare.    We  have 
learned  tnany  things  we  did  not  know  before.    *    *    A  valuable  contribution  to 
N.  C.  History    *    *    creditable  to  the  author  and  to  the  publishers." 

NORTH  CAROLINA  PRESBYTERIAN: 

"From  the  pen  of  a  thoroughly  (pialilli-d  Southerner  of  scholarly  ability  and 
disposition  for  patient  and  painstaking  research.  *  *  Pages  of  rare  historical 
value.  *  ♦  Eully  one  half  the  book  is  new  nniti-rial,  and  the  remainder  facts 
now  set  in  new  surroundings— a  i)art,  indeed,  is  galheretl  from  old  and  hidden 
books  having  the  sanu-  iiracticsil  value  as  new  material." 

WILMINGTON    N.  C.    STAR: 

"  Few  men  in  the  State  are  as  well  i|uali(ieil  forsutdi  painstaking  and  in.structive 
wofa.  A  glance  over  his  brlglit  Images  reveals  many  inviting  glimi>ses.  *  *  Mr. 
Vass  has  evidently  gone  li>  the  trne  sources  of  history — original  documents  and 
incitlental  discl<isures." 

PIIESBYTERIAN  REVIEW,  Ni:w  YoHK  : 

"This  is  an  interesting  and  valinible  local  history,  containing  a  number  of 
original  documents." 


THE  SCHOOLTEACHEU,  AVixsTOS,  X.  C.  ; 

"  The  book  is  one  of  gi'eat  interest." 

GLENWOOD  MONTHLY,  N.  C. : 
"Tbebook  iswitlioutapeer.    *    *    EVERY  TEACHER  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA 
HISTORY  SHOULD  HAVE  A  COPY.    *    * 

NEW  YORK  OBSERVER: 

"  Mr.  Vass  has  made  no  superflcial  study  of  the  subject  niatter  of  his  book.  *  * 
The  illustrations  are  well  executed.  *  *  Such  histories  will  be  of  immense 
value." 

ST.  LOUIS  PRESBYTERIAN,  Mo.  : 

"  Eminently  satisfactory.  *  *  A  most  entertaining,  as  well  as  important 
worit." 

PHILADELPHIA    PRESBYTERIAN,  Pa.: 

"  A  [careful  study  of  the  history  ot  Presbyterianism  in  Eastern  North  CaroHna. 

*  *    *    His  history  of  New  Bern  is  surticieutly  full.    *    *     *     The  worx  possesses 
permanent  value." 

CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER,  Locisville,  Kv.: 
"Its  researches  in  the  early  history  of  North  Carolina  are  entertaining  and 
instructive." 

SOUTH  WESTERN  PRESBYTERIAN,  NEW  ORLEANS,  La.: 

"  Almost  any  other  man  would  have  been  deterred  by  the  difHculties.  *  *  * 
A  mass  of  valuable  and  most  interesting  information,  combined  and  expanded 
so  happily  as  to  form  one  of  the  most  agreeable  contributions  to  historical 
i-esearch." 

CENTRAL  PRESBYTERIAN,  RlCIIMOXD,  Va.: 

"  We  have  read  with  deep  interest  his  account  of  the  first  settlements  in 
Eastern  North  Carolina— the  organization  of  churches,  and  the  growth  of  Pres- 
byterianism." 

TARBORO  SOUTHERNER,  N.  C. : 

"  It  is  the  most  complete  in  historical  facts  of  the  Colonial  days  of  any  publica- 
tion that  we  have  ever  .seen.  *  *  *  THE  SMALLEST  LIBRARY  SHOULD  NOT 
BE  WITHOUT  IT." 

THE  FALCON,  EuzAIiETlI  CiTV,  N.  C. : 

"It  ranks  with  the  best  histories  of  that  period  in  the  facts  given;  and  the 

coloring  of  the  picture  is  nearer  the  true  one  than  is  presented  in  any  of  them. 

*  *    *    He  has  conferred  a  lasting  benefit  upon  the  State." 


ly  Eastern   Nokth   Carolina,   New    I3ern   Presby- 
terian Church,  and  New  Bern," 

Price  '§1.50.     If  sent  by  mail,  15i*.  extra  for  postage. 

I^Tlie  first   edition    nearly   exhausted,   tUougli   i)nblislied 
onlv  a  few  inontbs. 


Sent  anywhere  on  receipt  of  cheek  or  postal  order  for 
the  price  by  the  Presbyterian  Publishing'  Committee,  liicU- 
mond,  Va.,  or  by  the  Publisher, 

Eev.  L.  C.  VAS8,  I).  I)., 
Oct.  22d,  1887.  New  Bern,  N.  C. 


^     P^mTeton  Theoloaical ,  Semjnanr  Ub^^^^^^^ 


